DOI: 10.5061/dryad.573n5tb7v
title: Data from: Scale-dependent effects of terrestrial habitat on genetic variation in the great crested newt (Triturus cristatus)

description: Context Terrestrial landscapes surrounding aquatic habitat influence the
 persistence of amphibian spatially structured populations (SSPs) via their
 crucial role in providing estivation and overwintering sites, facilitating
 or hampering dispersal and colonisation, and consequently the maintenance
 or loss of genetic diversity. Objectives To highlight the landscape
 drivers of genetic variation, we investigated the relationship between the
 level of genetic variation measured within ponds of the great crested newt
 (Triturus cristatus), and the composition of the surrounding landscape at
 various spatial scales. Methods Based on the sampling of 40 ponds in
 thirteen SSPs, the influence of landscape features on several estimators
 of genetic variation was investigated via linear mixed models, with
 effects within and between SSPs incorporated. Results The best models
 depended on the spatial scale, with more significant associations within
 radii of 50 and 100 m of core ponds, particularly for allelic richness.
 Responses within and between SSPs were mostly similar. The availability of
 aquatic habitat in the landscape had a positive effect, while woodland,
 arable land and pasture had different effects depending on scale and
 response variable. Total length of roads within a 250 m radius influenced
 effective population size negatively. Conclusions Our results stress the
 need to investigate the influence of environmental predictors at multiple
 spatial scales for an adequate understanding of ongoing processes.
 Generally, the landscape affected genetic variation similarly within and
 between SSPs. This allowed us to provide general guidelines for the
 persistence of great crested newt populations, with an emphasis on the
 importance of the aquatic habitat.
description: Multilocus genotypes of
 great crested newts at 31 microsatellite loci were collected via multiplex
 PCR and genotyping analysis on an ABI 3500 Genetic Analyzer. Allele calls
 were scored using the GeneMapper v.4.0 and v.4.3 software packages with
 fragment sizes based on GeneScan 600 LIZ Size Standard. Negative controls
 were included in each 96‐well PCR to allow for detection of reagent
 contamination. To test for reproducibility, samples were blindly
 replicated two to five times within and across well plates, starting from
 DNA extract. Genotypes of recaptured great crested newts, poor quality
 genotypes and identified full sibs among larvae within ponds using the
 software COLONY 2.0.6.5 following a maximum likelihood approach were
 excluded. Genotypes of 1332 individuals collected in 52 ponds from 13
 spatially structured populations remained.
description: The csv file shows the
 microsatellite genotypes of great crested newts with in the first eight
 columns the following information: the sample ID, the ID of the spatially
 structured population (SSP-ID), the pond ID, the year of sampling, the
 longitude followed by the latitude of the pond (WGS84), the life stage of
 the individual and sex (m: male; f: female). Unavailable or unknown
 information is denoted with “NA” in these columns. The next 31 columns
 represent the different microsatellite markers with the loci names
 mentioned in the column headers. Alleles are separated by a forward slash.
 Missing genotypes are indicated with “0/0”.