Genetic patterns as a function of landscape process: Applications of neutral genetic markers for predictive modeling in landscape ecology

Abstract

Integrating landscape ecology and population genetics (Manel et al. 2003), landscape genetics1 aims to link observed patterns of genetic variation to underlying landscape process(es) (Storfer et al. 2007). Landscape genetics is a useful, emerging approach with the potential to develop new understanding of ecological theory and improve management decisions (Balkenhol et al. 2009). Current applications that incorporate both genetic data and landscape variables develop hypotheses based on two fundamentally different approaches: (1) assessing patterns of adaptive traits (selection) (Holderegger et al. 2006) and (2) using gene flow and drift (neutral variation) to ask questions about ecological processes (Holderegger and Wagner 2008). © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.