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Data from: Evaluating inbreeding and assessing the risk of outbreeding depression in genetic rescue of the endangered marsh fritillary (Euphydryas aurinia)

Tengstedt, Aja Noersgaard Buur1; Høye, Toke Thomas1; Kristensen, Torsten Nygaard2; Hansen, Michael M.1

Published Dec 26, 2025 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.8931zcs50

Data files

Abstract

Restoring genetic diversity through assisted migration is increasingly recognized as a crucial strategy to counteract inbreeding depression and boost genetic variation in small and fragmented populations, yet concerns about outbreeding depression often hinder its application. This dataset contains whole-genome variant data generated to evaluate inbreeding patterns and inform assessments of outbreeding depression risk in the marsh fritillary (Euphydryas aurinia). It includes multiple SNP datasets representing successive stages of processing: raw variant calls, a quality-filtered dataset, a phased dataset for selection scans, an LD-pruned dataset suitable for population-structure analyses, and a dataset specifically filtered for runs-of-homozygosity (ROH) inference. We identify substantial inbreeding in the investigated populations (FROH approaching 40%), historical gene flow, recent divergence times between populations, and a low likelihood of local adaptation. Together, these results provide an example where genetic rescue could be undertaken successfully by transplanting individuals across populations with minimal outbreeding depression risks.