Abstract
Land-use changes in tropical dry forests (TDF) have rapidly reduced native vegetation, disrupting gene flow dynamics of tree species. Bursera cuneata is a co-dominant TDF tree in central Mexico, which is threatened by habitat loss and overexploitation. We investigated landscape drivers of functional connectivity of B. cuneata across scales to inform species conservation efforts. We genotyped 227 B. cuneata individuals from 33 populations across five hydrological basins: covering western, central, and southern Mexico, at 10,499 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci. We examined spatial patterns of genetic structure among hydrological basins and the landscape correlates of gene flow. We applied gravity models that incorporated within-site (i.e., local conditions within populations; slope and east aspect) and between-site (terrain roughness, habitat suitability, and habitat cover) factors associated with B. cuneata gene flow. Clustering analyses showed genetic structure among basins, with higher differentiation in more isolated regions. Gravity models revealed that functional connectivity is a scale-dependent process. Specifically, terrain roughness was the primary factor of connectivity at finer scales (1000–3000 m), while TDF cover became the main driver at regional scales (>4000 m). We recommend protecting and prioritizing crucial TDF remnants to maintain large-scale gene flow by integrating urban natural parks as important links to prevent genetic isolation between urban and rural populations.
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Data availability
The SNP data for 227 individuals at 10,499 loci are available on Zenodo, https://zenodo.org/records/20532184
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Acknowledgements
We thank for their assistance in collecting leaf material to Benjamín Castillo Ponce, Eduardo Quintero Melecio, Bruno A. Gutiérrez Becerril, Victor Reyes Pino, Stephanie Aguilera López, Tania Andrade Ortiz, Sergio Nicasio Arzeta, Sergio Zamudio, and several field assistants from local communities. Also, thanks to Mayra Castro Morales for her assistance in DNA extractions, and Ingrid Lara and Antonio González Rodríguez for the DNA quantification using Qubit.
Funding
This study was funded by the Secretaria de Ciencias, Humanidades, Tecnología e Innovación (SECIHTI) (CB2016-283237).
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YR and MSZ conceptualized the study. YR conducted field work and provided funding for the project; MSZ, BO, and YR conducted data analysis; MSZ wrote the manuscript; all authors contributed to editing.
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Zurita-Solis, M.A., Olukolu, B.A. & Rico, Y. Landscape genetics of the copal tree, Bursera cuneata (Burseraceae): the key role of the tropical dry forest in shaping connectivity at the regional scale.
Heredity (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41437-026-00858-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41437-026-00858-1
Keywords
- Burseraceae
- Functional connectivity
- Gene flow
- SNPs
- Tropical dry forest
- Mexico
Source: Ecology - nature.com
