Microsatellite genotypes for Mastomys natalensis (landscape and spatial autocorrelation analyses)Microsatellite dataset used in this study for the landscape and spatial autocorrelation analyses. This file includes the genotypes for nine microsatellite loci (216 samples collected from 101 transects across 23 grids).MastomysTransectFinal.xlsxMicrosatellite genotypes for Mastomys natalensis (full dataset)The full microsatellite dataset used in this study for the statistical and STRUCTURE analyses. Multilocus genotypes (nine microsatellite loci) for 260 Mastomys natalensis samples collected from the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park.MastomysAllIndFinal.xlsxAspect raster mapAspect raster map used in this study. Landscape resistance was modelled according to the hypothesis that there is an optimal aspect associated with the availability of water and favourable vegetation. Slope aspects were reclassified in increments of 45° from 0° to 315°.Aspect.zipLand cover raster mapLand cover raster map used in this study. The land cover map was reclassified into six categories based on the amount of cover provided: thicket, woodland, grassland, forest, river forest and major rivers.Land_cover.zipTopographic complexity raster mapTopographic complexity (TC) raster map used in this study. Topographic complexity was modelled under the hypothesis that resistance to gene flow increases as a landscape becomes more complex. This map represents TC when using a radius of 1.Topographic_complexity.zipRivers raster mapRivers raster map used in this study. This map indicates both the major and minor rivers.Rivers.zipRoads raster mapRoads raster map used in this study. This map indicates both the major and minor roads within the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park.Roads.zip

Small mammals provide ecosystem services, acting, for example, as pollinators and seed dispersers. In addition, they are also disease reservoirs that can be detrimental to human health and they can also act as crop pests. Knowledge of their dispersal preferences is therefore useful for population management and landscape planning. Genetic data were used alongside landscape data to examine the influence of the landscape on the demographic connectedness of the Natal multimammate mouse (Mastomys natalensis) and to identify landscape characteristics that influence the genetic structure of this species across a spatially and temporally varying environment. The most significant landscape features shaping gene flow were aspect, vegetation cover, topographic complexity (TC) and rivers, with western facing slopes, topographic complexity and rivers restricting gene flow. In general, thicket vegetation was correlated with increased gene flow. Identifying features of the landscape that facilitate movement/dispersal in M. natalensis potentially has application for other small mammals in similar ecosystems. As the primary reservoir host of the zoonotic Lassa virus, a landscape genetics approach may have applications in determining areas of high disease risk to humans. Identifying these landscape features may also be important in crop management due to damage by rodent pests.