On December 5, 2016, Marjorie Matocq, University of Nevada Reno, and John Kasbohm, Greater Sheldon-Hart Mountain National Wildlife Refuge, discussed functional continuity of habitat for the pygmy rabbit.
Pygmy rabbits (Brachylagus idahoensis) are habitat specialists of sagebrush communities throughout the Great Basin. Overgrazing, altered fire regimes, invasive plants and energy development are expected to impact natural patterns of dispersal and gene flow among wildlife populations in sagebrush ecosystems, including pygmy rabbits. In turn, these impacts may reduce the adaptive potential and persistence of local populations. This study seeks to identify the spatial distribution of genetic variation in pygmy rabbits. Researchers have developed habitat suitability models at the rangewide scale to determine whether patterns of genetic diversity are consistent with current habitat availability and to identify areas that may be at risk of declining genetic diversity due to habitat loss.
