Molecular Ecology (Ecology)

Genetic Relationships among Some Lycaenidae Butterflies as Revealed by RAPD Analysis

by Dr. Ashish Tiple

MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF MORPHOLOGICALLY SIMILAR FOUR PIERIDAE BUTTERFLIES (LEPIDOPTERA: INSECTA) BY RAPD-PCR TECHNIQUE

by Dr. Ashish Tiple

Testing hypotheses of Pleistocene population history using coalescent simulations: refugial isolation and secondary contact in the Mongolian toad, Pseudepidalea raddei (Amphibia: Bufonidae)

by Robert Murphy

Dong, B.-j. , J. Che, L. Ding, S. Huang, R.W. Murphy, E.-m. Zhao, and Y.-p. Zhang. In press. Testing hypotheses of Pleistocene population history using coalescent simulations: refugial isolation and secondary contact in the Mongolian toad, Pseudepidalea raddei (Amphibia: Bufonidae). Asian Herpetological Research.

Coalescence patterns in endemic Tibetan species of stream salamanders (Hynobiidae: Batrachuperus)

by Robert Murphy

Lu, B., Y.-c. Zheng, R.W. Murphy, and X.-m. Zeng. In press. Coalescence patterns in endemic Tibetan species of stream salamanders (Hynobiidae: Batrachuperus). Molecular Ecology. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2012.05606.x

Dubiec A., Zagalska-Neubauer M. 2006. Molecular techniques for sex identification in birds. Biological Letters 43:3-12.

by Magdalena Zagalska-Neubauer

Range-edge genetic diversity: locally poor extant southern patches maintain a regionally diverse hotspot in the seagrass Zostera marina

by Onno Diekmann

Molecular Ecology (2012) doi: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2012.05500.x

Refugial populations at the rear edge are predicted to contain higher genetic diversity
than those resulting from... more Refugial populations at the rear edge are predicted to contain higher genetic diversity
than those resulting from expansion, such as in post-glacial recolonizations. However,
peripheral populations are also predicted to have decreased diversity compared to the
centre of a species’ distribution. We aim to test these predictions by comparing genetic
diversity in populations at the limits of distribution of the seagrass Zostera marina, with
populations in the species’ previously described central diversity ‘hotspot’. Zostera
marina populations show decreased allelic richness, heterozygosity and genotypic
richness in both the ‘rear’ edge and the ‘leading’ edge compared to the diversity ‘hotspot’
in the North Sea ⁄ Baltic region. However, when populations are pooled, genetic diversity
at the southern range is as high as in the North Sea ⁄ Baltic region while the ‘leading edge’
remains low in genetic diversity. The decreased genetic diversity in these southern
Iberian populations compared to more central populations is possibly the effect of drift
because of small effective population size, as a result of reduced habitat, low sexual
reproduction and low gene flow. However, when considering the whole southern edge of
distribution rather than per population, diversity is as high as in the central ‘hotspot’ in
the North Sea ⁄ Baltic region. We conclude that diversity patterns assessed per population
can mask the real regional richness that is typical of rear edge populations, which have
played a key role in the species biogeographical history and as marginal diversity
hotspots have very high conservation value.

Taking stock: Defining populations of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) in Canada using neutral genetic markers

by Daniel Hasselman

Hasselman, D.J., R.G. Bradford, and P. Bentzen. 2010. Taking stock:  Defining populations of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) in Canada using neutral genetic markers.  Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 67: 1021-1039.

Comments on ‘Weak population differentiation in northern European populations of the endangered anadromous clupeid Alosa fallax'

by Daniel Hasselman

Hasselman, D.J. 2008.  Comments on ‘Weak population differentiation in northern European populations of the endangered anadromous clupeid Alosa fallax.’  Journal of Fish Biology 73: 1096-1098.

Molecular approaches identify known species, reveal cryptic species, and verify host specificity of Chinese Philotrypesis

by Robert Murphy

Zhou, M.-J., J.-H. Xiao, Y.-W. Li, W.-S. Wu, L.-M. Niu, H.-Y. Hu, S.-N. Bian, R.W. Murphy, and D.-W. Huang. In press. Molecular approaches identify known species, reveal cryptic species, and verify host specificity of Chinese Philotrypesis. Molecular Ecology Resources. MER-11-0361.R1

Reproductive life-history traits of birds in fragmented habitats: a review and meta-analysis

by Francisco E. Fonturbel

Co-authored with Renzo Vargas, Elisa Bonaccorso and Javier Simonetti.
In press at Bird Conservation International.

The effects of habitat fragmentation on the distribution and abundance of birds is a well-researched topic but there... more The effects of habitat fragmentation on the distribution and abundance of birds is a well-researched topic but there is little information published in terms of how habitat fragmentation affects reproductive life history traits. We reviewed the available literature on this subject and found that only 8%of the 1,433 studies dealing with birds in fragmented habitat studied life history traits and only 1.3% provided appropriate data to perform statistics. We found no effect of fragmentation on clutch and brood size patterns. Those patterns did not change when corrected by phylogeny. However, there is a significant heterogeneity among species responses, thus data on large-bodied, ground-nesting, and precocial birds suggest an increasing response in brood size in fragmented habitats. Finally, our review shows that despite birds being the most studied vertebrate group, crucial information such as the effects of habitat fragmentation on life history traits is still scarce and
insufficient, especially on species of conservation concern. Indeed, only one out of 15 species reviewed here was threatened. Studies on reproductive, behavioural and life history trait variation are urgently needed in order to advance conservation actions.

Molecular phylogeography of Carapichea ipecacuanha, an amphitropical shrub that occurs in the understory of both semideciduous and evergreen forests

by luiz Orlando de Oliveira

Molecular evidence of cryptic speciation, historical range expansion, and recent intraspecific hybridization in the Neotropical seasonal forest tree< i> Cedrela fissilis</i …

by luiz Orlando de Oliveira

Genetic evidence for dispersal by both sexes in the Central American Squirrel Monkey, Saimiri oerstedii citrinellus.

by Mary Blair

Blair, M.E. and D.J. Melnick. 2012.  American Journal of Primatology 74(1): 37-47. DOI: 10.1002/ajp.21007.

Molecular differentiation of species of the genus Zungaro (Siluriformes, Pimelodidae) from the Amazon and Paraná-Paraguay River basins in Brazil

by Andre Padial

Fish species of the Zungaro genus (Siluriformes, Pimelodidae) are amongst the largest migratory fish in Latin America... more Fish species of the Zungaro genus (Siluriformes, Pimelodidae) are amongst the largest migratory fish in Latin America and have considerable economic importance for commercial fishing in Brazil. However, natural populations of this large catfish are experiencing a severe decline. There are significant taxonomical inconsistencies for this fish. Two geographically separated species of the fish were initially described, one endemic in the Amazon and another in the Paraná-Paraguay River basins. A taxonomic review had recently proposed that there is only one Zungaro species in Brazil, based on morphological data. We made a molecular study of Zungaro populations in an attempt to solve taxonomical inconsistencies and to analyze genetic diversity in natural populations of this genus. We analyzed two regions of the mitochondrial DNA (the control region and the ATPase 6 gene region) of individuals sampled from the Paraná-Paraguay River and Amazon River basins. Analyses based on p-distances and maximum likelihood phylogenetic models showed a genetic difference between populations corresponding to different species. Genetic differentiation between Zungaro populations was at the same level as that observed between other Siluriformes species, using the same DNA sequences. We conclude that Zungaro species of the Paraná-Paraguay River basin do not belong to the same species found in the Amazon basin. This finding has a significant implication for conservation of this fish, given that populations are disappearing at a high rate in the Paraná-Paraguay River basin, mainly due to impoundments.

Evolution and connectivity in the world-wide migration system of the mallard: Inferences from mitochondrial DNA

by Robert Kraus

R. H. S. Kraus, A. Zeddeman, P. van Hooft, D. Sartakov, S. A. Soloviev, R. C. Ydenberg and H. H. T. Prins; BMC Genetics. 2011. 12:99

Background
Main waterfowl migration systems are well understood through ringing activities. However, in mallards... more Background
Main waterfowl migration systems are well understood through ringing activities. However, in mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) ringing studies suggest deviations from general migratory trends and traditions in waterfowl. Furthermore, surprisingly little is known about the population genetic structure of mallards, and studying it may yield insight into the spread of diseases such as Avian Influenza, and in management and conservation of wetlands. The study of evolution of genetic diversity and subsequent partitioning thereof during the last glaciation adds to ongoing discussions on the general evolution of waterfowl populations and flyway evolution. Hypothesised mallard flyways are tested explicitly by analysing mitochondrial mallard DNA from the whole northern hemisphere.

Results
Phylogenetic analyses confirm two mitochondrial mallard clades. Genetic differentiation within Eurasia and North-America is low, on a continental scale, but large differences occur between these two land masses (FST = 0.51). Half the genetic variance lies within sampling locations, and a negligible portion between currently recognised waterfowl flyways, within Eurasia and North-America. Analysis of molecualr variance (AMOVA) at continent scale, incorporating sampling localities as smallest units, also shows the absence of population structure on the flyway level. Finally, demographic modelling by coalescence simulation proposes a split between Eurasia and North-America 43,000 to 74,000 years ago and strong population growth (~100fold) since then and little migration (not statistically different from zero).

Conclusions
Based on this first complete assessment of the mallard's world-wide population genetic structure we confirm that no more than two mtDNA clades exist. Clade A is characteristic for Eurasia, and clade B for North-America although some representatives of clade A are also found in North-America. We explain this pattern by evaluating competing hypotheses and conclude that a complex mix of historical, recent and anthropogenic factors shaped the current mallard populations. We refute population classification based on flyways proposed by ornithologists and managers, because they seem to have little biological meaning. Our results have implications for wetland management and conservation, with special regard to the release of farmed mallards for hunting, as well as for the possible transmission of Avian Influenza by mallards due to migration.

Long‐term paternity skew and the opportunity for selection in a mammal with reversed sexual size dimorphism

by Stephen Rossiter

Rangewide Phylogeography In the Greater Horseshoe Bat Inferred From Microsatellites: Implications for Population History, Taxonomy and Conservation

by Stephen Rossiter

Phylogeography of the greater horseshoe bat, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum: contrasting results from mitochondrial and microsatellite data

by Stephen Rossiter

Population genetic structure and demographic history of the endemic Formosan lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus monoceros)

by Stephen Rossiter

Is the maximum carbon number of long-chain n-alkanes an indicator of grassland or forest? Evidence from surface soils and modern plants

by Andrew Henderson

Chinese Science Bulletin, 2011, 56, 1714-1720.

The molecular distribution of long-chain n-alkanes in 62 soil samples collected from diverse locations across eastern... more The molecular distribution of long-chain n-alkanes in 62 soil samples collected from diverse locations across eastern China was analyzed. The long-chain n-alkanes were mostly dominated by n-C29 or n-C31, regardless of the overlying vegetation type at each site. The results were compared with those summarized from the literature, covering more than 100 soil samples within China and more than 300 genera of modern plants distributed worldwide. There were similar n-alkane distribution patterns for most genera, with no clear differences among grasses, shrubs, and trees. The evidence from analyses of surface soils and modern plants indicates that the relationship between the molecular distribution of long-chain n-alkanes of surface soils and source vegetation is highly complex, and is influenced by many factors. Further, it is suggested that source vegetation types should not be simply inferred from distribution patterns of long-chain n-alkanes in sediments.