The dataset provides the predominate and traditional family names of African Nova Scotians in 6 regions in Nova Scotia. The regions consist of Halifax Metro, South Shore and Yarmouth and Acadian Shore, Bay of Fundy and Annapolis Valley, Northumberland Shore, Eastern Shore and Cape Breton Island. Within all these regions you find 48+ traditional African Nova Scotian communities. The dataset will also provide the communities you can find in each of the six regions.

Island populations have long been important for understanding the dynamics and mechanisms of evolution in natural systems. While genetic drift is often strong on islands due to founder events and population bottlenecks, the strength of selection can also be strong enough to counteract the effects of drift. Here, we used several analyses to identify the roles of genetic drift and selection on genetic differentiation and diversity of Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) across eastern Canada, including the islands of Cape Breton and Newfoundland. Specifically, we assessed whether we could identify a genetic component to the observed morphological differentiation that has been reported across insular and mainland lynx. We used a dinucleotide repeat within the promoter region of a functional gene that has been linked to mammalian body size, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). We found high genetic differentiation at neutral molecular markers but convergence of allele frequencies at the IGF-1 locus. Thus, we showed that while genetic drift has influenced the observed genetic structure of lynx at neutral molecular markers, natural selection has also played a role in the observed patterns of genetic diversity at the IGF-1 locus of insular lynx.

θ is effective population size (θ = 4Nμ) for first (θ1) and second (θ2) populations in the model and their ancestral population (θA); migration rates m1→2/μ and m2→1/μ are from first to second and second to first population in the model, respectively; divergence time is converted to thousands years (ka) using mutation rates of 2 and 4% per Ma. Values in parentheses represent 90% HPD confidence intervals for each parameter (see Table S3 for probability analysis of significant differences between parameters).Groups of populations are as following (see map in Fig. 1):NEA – Northeast Atlantic; ISL - Northeast Atlantic islands; NWA – Northwest Atlantic; NEA(S) includes NEA sites grouped in SAMOVA with North Atlantic islands (Ireland-1, Norway, Barents Sea, White Sea, Sweden-2, Germany, Belgium and France); NWA(S) includes NWA populations grouped in SAMOVA with North Atlantic islands (Cape Breton in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland); NEA(MAIN) includes mainland sites in Europe; BI includes all British Isles sites; CAN includes all Maritime Canada sites; USSOUTH includes southern US sites below 43°N; EUROPE(S) includes European sites (British Isles and Sweden) that formed a group with Venice in SAMOVA analyses; SPAIN is the site in Galicia; VENICE is the Venetian lagoon site.