Conservation of a fossorial grassland species (Geomys bursarius) through understanding niche reduction, landscape genetics, and phylogenetics
By considering a species conservation through multiple temporal and spatial lenses, we can better identify threats and provide management recommendations. This is particularly true for grassland species such as the plains pocket gopher (Geomys bursarius) persisting in landscapes that have already undergone initial land conversion. Here, I identify ongoing habitat degradation due to agricultural intensification since the 1950s, leading to niche shifts and an overall niche breadth reduction for G. bursarius in Illinois. I then identify genetic structure and gene flow patterns for G. bursarius at different spatial scales and partition gene flow to different isolating mechanisms. Finally, I provide an inferred phylogenetic tree, identifying G. b. illinoensis as monophyletic and genetically unique. Overall, G. b. illinoensis should be considered an Evolutionary Significant Unit that is currently facing novel and ongoing threats.
