Landscape Genomics of Savanna Elephant Populations in Nigeria: Implications for Connectivity, Adaptation, and Conservation Management

African savanna elephants in Nigeria exist as fragmented remnant populations in protected areas separated by intensively modified landscapes, raising critical questions about genetic erosion, local adaptation, and the feasibility of restoring demographic connectivity. This study applies a landscape genomics approach to characterise the genetic diversity, population structure, and adaptive variation of savanna elephant populations across all known major populations in Nigeria, including Kainji Lake National Park, Yankari Game Reserve, Gashaka Gumti National Park, and several smaller conservation areas. Non-invasive faecal DNA samples were collected from 310 individuals across eleven sampling locations. Single nucleotide polymorphisms were generated using restriction site-associated DNA sequencing and analysed using population structure, isolation by distance, and isolation by resistance frameworks. Environmental association analysis identified candidate loci under selection relative to thermal, vegetation, and water availability gradients across the study landscape. Demographic modelling estimated effective population sizes and past population connectivity. Results reveal four genetically distinct management units with evidence of severely restricted contemporary gene flow between most units, consistent with landscape fragmentation. Effective population sizes were critically low in three populations, falling below minimum viable population thresholds. Environmental association analysis identified 34 candidate loci potentially involved in thermoregulatory and dietary adaptation along north-south environmental gradients. Landscape resistance modelling identified three candidate corridor zones where restoration of movement could functionally reconnect currently isolated populations. The study provides a genomic conservation management plan for Nigerian elephants and recommends immediate translocation feasibility studies between the most genetically impoverished populations. Keywords: landscape genomics, savanna elephant, population structure, Nigeria, conservation genetics.