Whole genome sequencing data allow survey of variation from across the genome, reducing the constraint of balancing genome sub-sampling with recombination rates and linkage between sampled markers and target loci. As sequencing costs decrease, low coverage whole genome sequencing of pooled or indexed-individual samples is commonly utilized to identify loci associated with phenotypes or environmental axes in non-model organisms. There are, however, relatively few publicly available bioinformatic pipelines designed explicitly to analyze these types of data, and fewer still that process the raw sequencing data, provide useful metrics of quality control, and then execute analyses. Here, we present an updated version of a bioinformatics pipeline called POOLPARTY2 that can effectively handle either pooled or indexed DNA samples and includes new features to improve computational efficiency. Using simulated data, we demonstrate the ability of our pipeline to recover segregating variants, estimate their allele frequencies accurately, and identify genomic regions harboring loci under selection. Based on the simulated data set, we benchmark the efficacy of our pipeline with another bioinformatic suite, ANGSD, and illustrate the compatibility and complementarity of these suites by using ANGSD to generate genotype likelihoods as input for identifying linkage outlier regions using alignment files and variants provided by POOLPARTY2. Finally, we apply our updated pipeline to an empirical dataset of low coverage whole genomic data from uncurated population samples of Columbia River steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), results from which demonstrate the genomic impacts of decades of artificial selection in a prominent hatchery stock.

Understanding the neutral (demographic) and adaptive processes leading to the differentiation of species and populations is a critical component of evolutionary and conservation biology. In this context, recently diverged taxa represent a unique opportunity to study the process of genetic differentiation. Northern and southern Idaho ground squirrels (Urocitellus brunneus – NIDGS, and U. endemicus - SIDGS, respectively) are a recently diverged pair of sister species that have undergone dramatic declines in the last 50 years and are currently found in metapopulations across restricted spatial areas with distinct environmental pressures. Here we genotyped single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from buccal swabs with restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RADseq). With these data we evaluated neutral genetic structure at both the inter- and intra-specific level, and identified putatively adaptive SNPs using population structure outlier and genotype-environment association (GEA) analyses. At the interspecific level, we found a clear separation between NIDGS and SIDGS, and evidence for adaptive differentiation relating to differences in hibernation. At the intraspecific level, we identified 3 Evolutionarily Significant Units for NIDGS and 2 for SIDGS plus multiple Management and Adaptive Units. Elevation appears to be the main driver of adaptive differentiation in NIDGS, while neutral variation patterns match and extend that identified in previous studies using microsatellite markers. For SIDGS, neutral substructure generally reflected the effect of natural geographic barriers, while adaptive variation reflected differences in land cover and temperature. These results clearly highlight the roles of neutral and adaptive processes for understanding species and population differentiation, which can have important conservation implications in threatened species.