DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Limits to Species' Distributions: A Landscape Genetic Study of Two Amphibian Species in Yellowstone National Park

进化生态学的一个主要目标是了解物种分布和种群持久性。景观遗传学这一新兴领域为实现这一目标提供了新的途径，对两栖动物来说是理想的选择，因为它们的分布对景观特征很敏感，如湿度、道路、海拔和土地利用变化。选择黄石国家公园的两种两栖动物——北方蟾蜍和北方合唱蛙作为研究对象，是因为它们分别代表了分布和丰度的差异，即斑块性和递减性与连续性和丰富性。该研究将利用遗传数据和景观特征的影响模型来解释1)物种扩散，2)物种分布（即斑块与连续），以及3)种群持久性的差异。研究结果将加强大黄石网络库存和监测项目，并分享以帮助管理决策。作为公共宣传，将为黄石公园的游客开发与研究相关的教育活动。确定影响两栖动物扩散和减少的环境因素，这对了解其他地区两栖动物的减少可能很重要。为了更广泛的保护应用，本项目开发的新技术可以潜在地应用于任何物种，以确定扩散障碍，预测土地利用替代方案的影响，并确定保护区的优先次序。

A primary goal of evolutionary ecology is to understand species distributions and population persistence. The emerging field of landscape genetics provides new ways to address this goal and is ideal for amphibians because their distributions are sensitive to characteristics of the landscape, such as moisture, roads, elevation, and land use change. Two amphibians, the boreal toad and boreal chorus frog, in Yellowstone National Park were selected for study because they represent differences in distribution and abundance, i.e., patchy and declining vs. continuous and abundant, respectively. The proposed research will use genetic data and model the effect of landscape characteristics to explain differences in 1) species dispersal, 2) species distributions (i.e., patchy vs. continuous), and 3) population persistence.Research results will enhance the Greater Yellowstone Network Inventory and Monitoring project and be shared to aid management decisions. As public outreach, educational activities related to the research will be developed for Yellowstone visitors. Environmental factors influencing amphibian dispersal and decline will be identified, which may be important for understanding amphibian declines in other locations. For broader conservation application, novel techniques developed in this project could potentially be applied in any species to identify dispersal barriers, predict impacts of land use alternatives, and prioritize conservation areas.