Genetic evaluation of the evolutionary distinctness of a federally endangered butterfly, Lange’s Metalmark

BMC Evolutionary Biology

Research Article

Ken Davenport¹  Paul A Opler¹  Benjamin Proshek²  Felix AH Sperling²  Julian R Dupuis²  Anna Engberg³  Jerry A Powell³ 

[1] C.P. Gillette Museum of Arthropod Diversity, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO, USA;Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada;Essig Museum of Entomology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA;

关键词: Conservation;    Mitochondrial DNA;    Population genetics;    Phylogeny;    Evolutionarily significant unit;    ESU;    Apodemia mormo langei;    Riodinidae;    Endangered species act;    Conservation prioritization;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12862-015-0354-9

 received in 2014-12-08, accepted in 2015-04-20,  发布年份 2015

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe Mormon Metalmark (Apodemia mormo) species complex occurs as isolated and phenotypically variable colonies in dryland areas across western North America. Lange’s Metalmark, A. m. langei, one of the 17 subspecies taxonomically recognized in the complex, is federally listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973. Metalmark taxa have traditionally been described based on phenotypic and ecological characteristics, and it is unknown how well this nomenclature reflects their genetic and evolutionary distinctiveness. Genetic variation in six microsatellite loci and mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I sequence was used to assess the population structure of the A. mormo species complex across 69 localities, and to evaluate A. m. langei’s qualifications as an Evolutionarily Significant Unit.ResultsWe discovered substantial genetic divergence within the species complex, especially across the Continental Divide, with population genetic structure corresponding more closely with geographic proximity and local isolation than with taxonomic divisions originally based on wing color and pattern characters. Lange’s Metalmark was as genetically divergent as several other locally isolated populations in California, and even the unique phenotype that warranted subspecific and conservation status is reminiscent of the morphological variation found in some other populations.ConclusionsThis study is the first genetic treatment of the A. mormo complex across western North America and potentially provides a foundation for reassessing the taxonomy of the group. Furthermore, these results illustrate the utility of molecular markers to aid in demarcation of biological units below the species level. From a conservation point of view, Apodemia mormo langei’s diagnostic taxonomic characteristics may, by themselves, not support its evolutionary significance, which has implications for its formal listing as an Endangered Species.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
© Proshek et al.; licensee BioMed Central. 2015. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.