| Maintaining connectivity among populations fragmented due to human-induced landscape change is an important challenge in California's increasingly impacted landscape. Roads, crucial for connecting urban centers, can act as significant barriers to wildlife dispersal, but their effects on genetic connectivity of populations vary, likely with intensity of use, and are generally difficult to quantify. Major multilane highways provide a range of traffic volumes, allowing for examination of the impacts of highway use on genetic connectivity. We examined populations of coyotes (Canis latrans) along SR 50 and I-80 in the Sierra Nevada Foothills and I-580 and I-680 in the Bay Area to determine whether these highways act as barriers to gene flow between bisected populations. DNA from fecal samples collected along each side of the highways was sequenced for species confirmation and genotyped with microsatellites. We will examine regional genetic structure using population assignment testing and pairwise FST estimates to determine the degree of connectivity across and alongside the study highways. Recent federal transportation law encourages development of sustainable transportation systems, including reduced impacts on wildlife connectivity. Understanding how California highways impact wildlife will aid transportation agencies in incorporating and prioritizing mitigation strategies. |