Utah prairie dogs (Cynomys parvidens) are federally threatened due to eradication campaigns, habitat destruction, and outbreaks of plague. Today, Utah prairie dogs exist in small, isolated populations, making them less demographically stable and more susceptible to erosion of genetic variation by genetic drift. We characterized patterns of genetic structure at neutral and putatively adaptive loci in order to evaluate the relative effects of genetic drift and local adaptation on population divergence. We sampled individuals across the Utah prairie dog species range and generated 2955 single nucleotide polymorphisms using double digest restriction site‐associated DNA sequencing. Genetic diversity was lower in low‐elevation sites compared to high‐elevation sites. Population divergence was high among sites and followed an isolation‐by‐distance model. Our results indicate that genetic drift plays a substantial role in the population divergence of the Utah prairie dog, and colonies would likely benefit from translocation of individuals between recovery units, which are characterized by distinct elevations, despite the detection of environmental associations with outlier loci. By understanding the processes that shape genetic structure, better informed decisions can be made with respect to the management of threatened species to ensure that adaptation is not stymied.

中文翻译：

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描述受威胁的犹他州草原土拨鼠的基因组变异模式：对保护和管理的影响

由于根除运动、栖息地破坏和鼠疫爆发，犹他州草原土拨鼠（Cynomys parvidens ）受到联邦政府的威胁。如今，犹他州草原土拨鼠的种群规模较小且与世隔绝，这使得它们在种群数量上不太稳定，并且更容易受到遗传漂变导致的遗传变异的侵蚀。我们表征了中性和假定适应性基因座的遗传结构模式，以评估遗传漂变和局部适应对种群分化的相对影响。我们对犹他州草原土拨鼠物种范围内的个体进行了采样，并使用双消化限制性位点相关 DNA 测序生成了 2955 个单核苷酸多态性。与高海拔地区相比，低海拔地区的遗传多样性较低。不同地点之间的人口差异很大，并遵循距离隔离模型。我们的结果表明，遗传漂变在犹他州草原土拨鼠的种群分化中发挥着重要作用，尽管检测到与异常位点的环境关联，但群体可能会受益于个体在恢复单位之间的易位，这些恢复单位的特点是不同的海拔。通过了解塑造遗传结构的过程，可以在受威胁物种的管理方面做出更明智的决策，以确保适应不会受到阻碍。