Landscape as a determinant of dispersal patterns and population connectivity in a newt species

• We model dispersal and connectivity of an aquatic species across its allopatric range
• We examine if landscape features can be used to model connectivity in an aquatic species.
• We find high levels of connectivity along the Danube River.
• Coarse landscape features can be used to estimate connectivity.

Landscapes and their structure are important in shaping the distribution of species and the composition of communities. Since a landscape contains elements that are less permeable to dispersal, species use corridors of habitat suitable to movements that maintain the genetic flow among populations. Corridors have been widely used in conservation biology, but less often to study the connectivity between species’ allopatric ranges. In this study, we analyzed the distribution and connectivity patterns of the Danube Crested Newt (Triturus dobrogicus), a species found in the Danube river basin and whose range is separated by the Carpathian Mountains in two regions, eastern and western. Despite the geographical barrier and clear morphological differentiation between the populations of the two regions, recent genetic analyses suggest maintenance of genetic flow. The aims of our study were (1) to estimate the dispersal ability of the Danube Crested Newt and the connectivity (via corridors) between populations and (2) to identify possible pathways used by the species to cross the Carpathian Mountains barrier. We found that the landscape facilitates a higher population connectivity in the western range than in the eastern range of the species. Moreover, we identified two major migration pathways, along the Iron Gate Canyon and the Timiş – Cerna Gap, that may connect all known occurrences from the two regions separated by the Carpathian Mountains. As an alternative dispersal hypothesis, we also discussed the possibility that the Danube Crested Newt is passively dispersed by water, down the Danube river flow direction. Our study provides support for the assertion that even when a species’ distribution is separated in two ranges by a geographical barrier, connectivity between populations via corridors can persist.

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