Approximately 100 years ago, unregulated harvest nearly eliminated white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from eastern North America, which subsequently served to catalyze wildlife management as a national priority. An extensive stock-replenishment effort soon followed, with deer broadly translocated among states as a means of re-establishment. However, an unintended consequence was that natural patterns of gene flow became obscured and pre-translocation signatures of population structure were replaced. We applied cutting-edge molecular and biogeographic tools to disentangle genetic signatures of historical management from those reflecting spatially heterogeneous dispersal by evaluating 35,099 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) derived via reduced-representation genomic sequencing from 1,143 deer sampled state-wide in Arkansas. We then employed Simpson’s diversity index to summarize ancestry assignments and visualize spatial genetic transitions. Using sub-sampled transects across these transitions, we tested clinal patterns across loci against theoretical expectations of their response under scenarios of recolonization and restricted dispersal. Two salient results emerged: (A) Genetic signatures from historic translocations are demonstrably apparent; and (B) Geographic filters (major rivers; urban centers; highways) now act as inflection points for the distribution of this contemporary ancestry. These results yielded a state-wide assessment of contemporary population structure in deer as driven by historic translocations as well as ongoing processes. In addition, the analytical framework employed herein to effectively decipher extant/historic drivers of deer distribution in Arkansas are also applicable for other biodiversity elements with similarly complex demographic histories.

中文翻译：

---

高度管理物种中的空间种群遗传学：白尾鹿的历史易位模式与当代基因流的分离模式

大约100年前，不受监管的收割几乎消除了白尾鹿（Odocoileus virginianus）来自北美东部，后来将其作为国家优先事项来促进野生动植物的管理。随后进行了广泛的库存补充工作，将鹿作为重建的一种手段在各州之间广泛转移。但是，意想不到的结果是基因流的自然模式被遮盖了，种群结构的易位特征被替换了。我们应用了先进的分子和生物地理工具，通过评估阿肯色州1,143头鹿的全称，通过减少代表性的基因组测序评估了35,099个单核苷酸多态性（SNP），从而将历史管理的遗传标记与那些反映空间异质分散的标记分离开来。然后，我们使用Simpson的多样性指数来总结祖先的任务并可视化空间遗传转变。使用跨这些过渡的子采样样带，我们在重新定殖和限制散布的情况下，对照其响应的理论预期，测试了跨基因座的临床模式。出现了两个显着的结果：（A）历史性易位的遗传特征显而易见。（B）地理过滤器（主要河流，城市中心，高速公路）现在充当了传播这一当代血统的拐点。这些结果对鹿的当代人口结构进行了全州范围的评估，这是由历史上的易位以及正在进行的过程所驱动的。另外，本文所采用的用于有效破译阿肯色州鹿分布的现存/历史驱动因素的分析框架也适用于人口历史相似的其他生物多样性要素。