Environmental and climatic determinants of molecular diversity and genetic population structure in a coenagrionid damselfly.

Identifying environmental factors that structure intraspecific genetic diversity is of interest for both habitat preservation and biodiversity conservation. Recent advances in statistical and geographical genetics make it possible to investigate how environmental factors affect geographic organisati...

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Main Authors: Maren Wellenreuther, Rosa A Sánchez-Guillén, Adolfo Cordero-Rivera, Erik I Svensson, Bengt Hansson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2011-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3105071?pdf=render
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spelling doaj-8b5a1ccc865b4a928b4810a314f7fd5e2020-11-25T01:49:53ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032011-01-0165e2044010.1371/journal.pone.0020440Environmental and climatic determinants of molecular diversity and genetic population structure in a coenagrionid damselfly.Maren WellenreutherRosa A Sánchez-GuillénAdolfo Cordero-RiveraErik I SvenssonBengt HanssonIdentifying environmental factors that structure intraspecific genetic diversity is of interest for both habitat preservation and biodiversity conservation. Recent advances in statistical and geographical genetics make it possible to investigate how environmental factors affect geographic organisation and population structure of molecular genetic diversity within species. Here we present a study on a common and wide ranging insect, the blue tailed damselfly Ischnuraelegans, which has been the target of many ecological and evolutionary studies. We addressed the following questions: (i) Is the population structure affected by longitudinal or latitudinal gradients?; (ii) Do geographic boundaries limit gene flow?; (iii) Does geographic distance affect connectivity and is there a signature of past bottlenecks?; (iv) Is there evidence of a recent range expansion and (vi) what is the effect of geography and climatic factors on population structure? We found low to moderate genetic sub-structuring between populations (mean F(ST) = 0.06, D(est) = 0.12), and an effect of longitude, but not latitude, on genetic diversity. No significant effects of geographic boundaries (e.g. water bodies) were found. F(ST)-and D(est)-values increased with geographic distance; however, there was no evidence for recent bottlenecks. Finally, we did not detect any molecular signatures of range expansions or an effect of geographic suitability, although local precipitation had a strong effect on genetic differentiation. The population structure of this small insect has probably been shaped by ecological factors that are correlated with longitudinal gradients, geographic distances, and local precipitation. The relatively weak global population structure and high degree of genetic variation within populations suggest that I. elegans has high dispersal ability, which is consistent with this species being an effective and early coloniser of new habitats.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3105071?pdf=render
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Maren Wellenreuther
Rosa A Sánchez-Guillén
Adolfo Cordero-Rivera
Erik I Svensson
Bengt Hansson
spellingShingle Maren Wellenreuther
Rosa A Sánchez-Guillén
Adolfo Cordero-Rivera
Erik I Svensson
Bengt Hansson
Environmental and climatic determinants of molecular diversity and genetic population structure in a coenagrionid damselfly.
PLoS ONE
author_facet Maren Wellenreuther
Rosa A Sánchez-Guillén
Adolfo Cordero-Rivera
Erik I Svensson
Bengt Hansson
author_sort Maren Wellenreuther
title Environmental and climatic determinants of molecular diversity and genetic population structure in a coenagrionid damselfly.
title_short Environmental and climatic determinants of molecular diversity and genetic population structure in a coenagrionid damselfly.
title_full Environmental and climatic determinants of molecular diversity and genetic population structure in a coenagrionid damselfly.
title_fullStr Environmental and climatic determinants of molecular diversity and genetic population structure in a coenagrionid damselfly.
title_full_unstemmed Environmental and climatic determinants of molecular diversity and genetic population structure in a coenagrionid damselfly.
title_sort environmental and climatic determinants of molecular diversity and genetic population structure in a coenagrionid damselfly.
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
series PLoS ONE
issn 1932-6203
publishDate 2011-01-01
description Identifying environmental factors that structure intraspecific genetic diversity is of interest for both habitat preservation and biodiversity conservation. Recent advances in statistical and geographical genetics make it possible to investigate how environmental factors affect geographic organisation and population structure of molecular genetic diversity within species. Here we present a study on a common and wide ranging insect, the blue tailed damselfly Ischnuraelegans, which has been the target of many ecological and evolutionary studies. We addressed the following questions: (i) Is the population structure affected by longitudinal or latitudinal gradients?; (ii) Do geographic boundaries limit gene flow?; (iii) Does geographic distance affect connectivity and is there a signature of past bottlenecks?; (iv) Is there evidence of a recent range expansion and (vi) what is the effect of geography and climatic factors on population structure? We found low to moderate genetic sub-structuring between populations (mean F(ST) = 0.06, D(est) = 0.12), and an effect of longitude, but not latitude, on genetic diversity. No significant effects of geographic boundaries (e.g. water bodies) were found. F(ST)-and D(est)-values increased with geographic distance; however, there was no evidence for recent bottlenecks. Finally, we did not detect any molecular signatures of range expansions or an effect of geographic suitability, although local precipitation had a strong effect on genetic differentiation. The population structure of this small insect has probably been shaped by ecological factors that are correlated with longitudinal gradients, geographic distances, and local precipitation. The relatively weak global population structure and high degree of genetic variation within populations suggest that I. elegans has high dispersal ability, which is consistent with this species being an effective and early coloniser of new habitats.
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3105071?pdf=render
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