Genomics-informed delineation of conservation units in a desert amphibian.

Autor: Forester BR; Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA., Murphy M; Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Program in Ecology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA., Mellison C; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Reno, NV, USA., Petersen J; Nevada Department of Wildlife, Elko, NV, USA., Pilliod DS; U.S. Geological Survey, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Boise, ID, USA., Van Horne R; U.S. Forest Service, Sparks, NV, USA., Harvey J; U.S. Forest Service, Sparks, NV, USA., Funk WC; Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.; Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Molecular ecology [Mol Ecol] 2022 Oct; Vol. 31 (20), pp. 5249-5269. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Aug 30.
DOI: 10.1111/mec.16660
Abstrakt: Delineating conservation units (CUs, e.g., evolutionarily significant units, ESUs, and management units, MUs) is critical to the recovery of declining species because CUs inform both listing status and management actions. Genomic data have strengths and limitations in informing CU delineation and related management questions in natural systems. We illustrate the value of using genomic data in combination with landscape, dispersal and occupancy data to inform CU delineation in Nevada populations of the Great Basin Distinct Population Segment of the Columbia spotted frog (Rana luteiventris). R. luteiventris occupies naturally fragmented aquatic habitats in this xeric region, but beaver removal, climate change and other factors have put many of these populations at high risk of extirpation without management intervention. We addressed three objectives: (i) assessing support for ESUs within Nevada; (ii) evaluating and revising, if warranted, the current delineation of MUs; and (iii) evaluating genetic diversity, effective population size, adaptive differentiation and functional connectivity to inform ongoing management actions. We found little support for ESUs within Nevada but did identify potential revisions to MUs based on unique landscape drivers of connectivity that distinguish these desert populations from those in the northern portion of the species range. Effective sizes were uniformly small, with low genetic diversity and weak signatures of adaptive differentiation. Our findings suggest that management actions, including translocations and genetic rescue, might be warranted. Our study illustrates how a carefully planned genetic study, designed to address priority management goals that include CU delineation, can provide multiple insights to inform conservation action.
(© 2022 The Authors. Molecular Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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