The Mogollon Narrowheaded gartersnake (Thamnophis rufipunctatus) and the Northern Mexican gartersnake (Thamnophis eques megalops) are both listed as Threatened under the Federal Endangered Species Act. Both species have a strong association with aquatic habitats, and these habitats have been highly altered from impoundments, land-use changes, and the introduction and spread of non-native aquatic species, which have contributed to declines in Arizona and New Mexico over the last 30-40 years. We characterized 125 microsatellite loci per species to generate genetic toolsets for use in long term genetic monitoring of populations. We evaluated microsatellite loci for missing data and several variability thresholds, which resulted in 108 microsatellite loci for T. rufipunctatus and 91 microsatellite loci for T. eques megalops.

We compared genetic diversity and body condition indices among two source locations in Catron County, New Mexico (Whitewater Creek and Middle Fork Gila) and the recipient population (Saliz Creek) to evaluate individual- and population-level fitness responses related to the admixture of gene pools following the the translocation of Mogollon Narrow-headed Gartersnakes (Thamnophis rufipunctatus). Our body condition dataset consisted of 294 snakes, and 174 genetic samples were used for genetic diversity estimates, with 95 snakes sharing both genetic and body condition data used for heterozygosity-fitness correlation analyses. As Thamnophis rufipunctatus is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, sensitive location information can be made available upon request by contacting the dataset point of contact.

We collected ddRADseq data using the Peterson et al. 2012 (see Methodology for full citation) protocol to study the population structure and genetic diversity of two threatened species of gartersnakes inhabiting the lower Colorado River Basin in the United States: Mogollon Narrow-headed gartersnake (Thamnophis rufipunctatus) and Northern Mexican gartersnake (T. eques megalops). Data were sequenced on an Illumina HiSeq 2500 and 4000 to generate 50 base pair sequence reads and stored as fastq files. Data were submitted to NCBI in an approved format for their database. Data are stored in the NCBI Sequence Read Archive in fastq file format and can be found at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sra/SRP144044 These data support the following publication: Wood, D.A., Emmons, I.D., Nowak, E.M., Christman, B.L., Holycross, A.T., Jennings, R.D., and Vandergast, A.G., 2018, Conservation genomics of the Mogollon Narrow-headed gartersnake (Thamnophis rufipunctatus) and Northern Mexican gartersnake (T. eques megalops): U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report XXXXXXXXX

These data show the multilocus genotypes, as well as extraction and sample genotype quality assessments for desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) scat samples.

Monitoring population connectivity to inform management is especially important in regions at the very edges of wilderness where native fauna and flora face habitat reduction, degradation, and fragmentation. One such region is the Ivanpah valley along the California/Nevada border, where development (i.e., solar facilities, recreational utility vehicle use) continues to encroach on the habitat of its inhabitants, including the iconic Mojave Desert tortoise, Gopherus agassizi. A long-lived, elusive animal, this species poses an array of challenges to monitoring direct movement, including the challenging terrain in which it resides and the fact that individuals can spend as much as 95 percent of their time in burrows. Thus, genetic monitoring of gene flow and population structure can be an ideal complement to direct monitoring of tortoise movement. Our group has previously evaluated the spatial population genetic structure of the tortoise in the Ivanpah region using a dataset of 299 individuals sampled between 2011 and 2019 and genotyped at 20 microsatellite loci (Dutcher et al., 2020). We found support for historical gene flow with isolation-by-resistance and suggested that connectivity may have been reduced by a railway and highway bisecting the region. We continued to follow up on these findings, collecting additional samples and developing a set of 125 high-throughput microsatellite loci designed specifically for G. agassizi. This data release contains multilocus genotypes collected by high-throughput genotyping for 722 tortoises collected in the region and will be used to explore fine-scale population genetic dynamics, reconstruct pedigrees, and infer movement patterns.

These data show the multilocus genotypes, gender, and midline carapace length (MCL) for desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) sampled in the central portion of the Mojave desert tortoise range.

These data show the multilocus genotypes, gender, and midline carapace length (MCL) for desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) sampled in the central portion of the Mojave desert tortoise range.

These data describe differences in percent cover of microhabitats and vegetation types at giant gartersnake locations and random points paired with giant gartersnake locations for use in case-control logistic regression. The data also include information on the individual snake, the year of observation, and whether the individual had moved from its previous location to allow for correlation of the data within individuals and locations

These data describe differences in percent cover of microhabitats and vegetation types at giant gartersnake locations and random points paired with giant gartersnake locations for use in case-control logistic regression. The data also include information on the individual snake, the year of observation, and whether the individual had moved from its previous location to allow for correlation of the data within individuals and locations

We investigated fine-scale genetic patterns of the federally threatened Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus) on a relatively undisturbed island in northern Michigan, USA. This species often persists in habitat islands throughout much of its distribution due to extensive habitat loss and distance-limited dispersal. These data are from 102 individual Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnakes sampled at Bois Blanc Island, Michigan and genotyped at 15 microsatellite loci. Samples were collected as part of a study to examine functional connectivity for the Eastern Massasauga. We found that the entire island population exhibited weak genetic structuring with spatially segregated variation in effective migration and genetic diversity.