Landscape features influence wildlife movements across spatial scales and have the potential to influence the spread of disease. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal prion disease affecting members of the family Cervidae, particularly white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), and the first positive CWD case in a wild deer in Ohio, USA, was recorded in 2020. Landscape genetics approaches are increasingly used to better understand potential pathways for CWD spread in white-tailed deer, but little is known about genetic structure of white-tailed deer in Ohio. The objectives of our study were to evaluate spatial genetic structure in white-tailed deer across Ohio and compare the support for isolation by distance (IBD) and isolation by landscape resistance (IBR) models in explaining this structure. We collected genetic data from 619 individual deer from 24 counties across Ohio during 2007–2009. We used microsatellite genotypes from 619 individuals genotyped at 11 loci and haplotypes from a 547-base pair fragment of the mitochondrial DNA control region. We used spatial and non-spatial genetic clustering tests to evaluate genetic structure in both types of genetic data and empirically optimized landscape resistance surfaces to compare IBD and IBR using microsatellite data. Non-spatial genetic clustering tests failed to detect spatial genetic structure, whereas spatial genetic clustering tests indicated subtle spatial genetic structure. The IBD model consistently outperformed IBR models that included land cover, traffic volume, and streams. Our results indicated widespread genetic connectivity of white-tailed deer across Ohio and negligible effects of landscape features. These patterns likely reflect some combination of minimal resistive effects of landscape features on white-tail deer movement in Ohio and the effects of regional recolonization or translocation. We encourage continued CWD surveillance in Ohio, particularly in the proximity of confirmed cases. © 2021 The Wildlife Society. This article has been contributed to by US Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.

中文翻译：

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景观特征无法解释美国俄亥俄州白尾鹿的空间遗传结构

景观特征影响野生动物跨空间尺度的运动，并有可能影响疾病的传播。慢性消耗性疾病 (CWD) 是一种致命的朊病毒疾病，影响鹿科动物，尤其是白尾鹿 ( Odocoileus virginianus))，并且在 2020 年记录了美国俄亥俄州一头野生鹿的第一个 CWD 阳性病例。景观遗传学方法越来越多地用于更好地了解 CWD 在白尾鹿中传播的潜在途径，但对白尾鹿的遗传结构知之甚少。俄亥俄州的白尾鹿。我们研究的目的是评估俄亥俄州白尾鹿的空间遗传结构，并比较对距离隔离 (IBD) 和景观阻力隔离 (IBR) 模型的支持，以解释这种结构。2007-2009 年期间，我们收集了来自俄亥俄州 24 个县的 619 只鹿的遗传数据。我们使用了来自 11 个基因座的 619 个人的微卫星基因型和来自线粒体 DNA 控制区的 547 碱基对片段的单倍型。我们使用空间和非空间遗传聚类测试来评估两种类型遗传数据中的遗传结构，并根据经验优化景观阻力表面，以使用微卫星数据比较 IBD 和 IBR。非空间遗传聚类测试未能检测到空间遗传结构，而空间遗传聚类测试表明空间遗传结构很微妙。IBD 模型始终优于包括土地覆盖、交通量和河流在内的 IBR 模型。我们的结果表明，俄亥俄州白尾鹿广泛存在遗传连通性，而景观特征的影响则可以忽略不计。这些模式可能反映了景观特征对俄亥俄州白尾鹿运动的最小阻力影响以及区域重新定殖或易地的影响的某种组合。我们鼓励在俄亥俄州继续进行 CWD 监测，特别是在确诊病例附近。© 2021 野生动物协会。本文由美国政府雇员提供，他们的工作在美国属于公共领域。