Genetics has been used in many different ways to understand the spatial aspects of species, historically and modern. In this dissertation, I have explored genetic variation across multiple spatial scales, with data generated using different methods for each chapter. These methods demonstrate the variety of information that can be obtained from biological samples, and the types of questions you can answer with each. Here, I have used a database of gene sequences to leverage information available at a global scale. I have also used genomic information at the individual level to examine modern structuring at a localized scale. Finally, I have used pooled sequencing methods to investigate dispersal and structure in a dozens of populations in a fragmented habitat. In the first chapter, I used over 3,000 sequences of the rabies glycoprotein to track the history of rabies across the globe. I combined this information with historical records, showing how rabies may have spread via human movements, and current genetic variation dates back only 800 years. In the second chapter, I used ecological information to make predictions regarding gene flow and connectivity in \textit{Moina macrocopa} in a naturally fragmented system. Then, using pooled sequencing, we were able to obtain genotype frequencies from 24 different populations, which allowed us to see that short-range dispersal was incapable of overcoming the processes that create structure, whereas dispersal across the entire island created comparatively little structure. In my third chapter, I investigated the population structure of \textit{Microtus pennsylvanicus} at a highway intersection and a field. Here, we generated SNPs via 3’RNAseq, which proved sufficient to detect differentiation at a scale under 100m across the highway, and showed that the field did not display any significant differentiation from one end to the other. These different methods varied greatly in cost per sample and data generated. While long-term data sets are ideal, this thesis demonstrates that relatively small scale studies can be very informative. Further, these approaches can be adapted to be experimental, examining important questions in conservation, targeting tractable systems in a way that will help us understand the processes that threaten other species.