Yellowstone National Park

Quantifying Bufo boreas connectivity in Yellowstone National Park with landscape genetics

A novel application of Random Forests to landscape genetic data reveals that habitat permeability, topographic morphology, and temperature–moisture regimes significantly influence the connectivity of Bufo boreas (the Yellowstone toad) in Yellowstone National Park. The study found that growing-season precipitation, fire history (specifically the 1988 Yellowstone fires), cover, temperature, impervious surfaces like roads, and topographic complexity explain 56% of the variation in connectivity. Notably, habitat permeability operates on fine scales, while topographic and climatic factors affect connectivity across multiple scales, emphasizing the need for cross-scale analysis. Hierarchical analysis further showed that within-genetic clusters (identified using Structure), dispersal cover, precipitation, and impervious surfaces explained more variation (74%) than between clusters (45%), highlighting the importance of fine-scale ecological processes in shaping population structure.