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Withers SJ, Parsons S, Hauber ME, Kendrick A, Lavery SD. Genetic divergence between isolated populations of the North Island New Zealand Rifleman ( Acanthisitta chloris granti) implicates ancient biogeographic impacts rather than recent habitat fragmentation. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:5998-6014. [PMID: 34141198 PMCID: PMC8207446 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2020] [Revised: 12/26/2020] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
This research investigates the extent and causal mechanisms of genetic population divergence in a poorly flighted passerine, the North Island Rifleman or Titipounamu (Acanthisitta chloris granti). While this species has a historically widespread distribution, anthropogenic forest clearance has resulted in a highly fragmented current distribution. We conducted analyses of mitochondrial DNA (COI and Control Region) and 12 nuclear DNA microsatellites to test for population divergence and estimate times of divergence. diyabc and biogeobears were then used to assess likely past dispersal scenarios based on both mtDNA and nDNA. The results reveal several significantly divergent lineages across the North Island of New Zealand and indicate that some populations have been isolated for extensive periods of time (0.7-4.9 mya). Modeling indicated a dynamic history of population connectivity, with a drastic restriction in gene flow between three geographic regions, followed by a more recent re-establishment of connectivity. Our analyses indicate the dynamic influence of key geological and climatological events on the distribution of genetic diversity in this species, including support for the genetic impact of old biogeographic boundaries such as the Taupo Line and Cockayne's Line, rather than recent anthropogenic habitat fragmentation. These findings present a rare example of an avian species with a genetic history more like that of flightless taxa and so provide new general insights into vicariant processes affecting populations of passerines with limited dispersal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah J. Withers
- School of Biological SciencesPrivate Bag 92019Auckland Mail CentreThe University of AucklandAucklandNew Zealand
| | - Stuart Parsons
- School of Biological SciencesPrivate Bag 92019Auckland Mail CentreThe University of AucklandAucklandNew Zealand
- School of Biology and Environmental ScienceQueensland University of TechnologyBrisbaneQLDAustralia
| | - Mark E. Hauber
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and BehaviorSchool of Integrative BiologyUniversity of IllinoisUrbana‐ChampaignILUSA
| | - Alistair Kendrick
- School of Biological SciencesPrivate Bag 92019Auckland Mail CentreThe University of AucklandAucklandNew Zealand
| | - Shane D. Lavery
- Institute of Marine SciencePrivate Bag 92019Auckland Mail CentreThe University of AucklandAucklandNew Zealand
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Talbot B, Vonhof MJ, Broders HG, Fenton B, Keyghobadi N. Range-wide genetic structure and demographic history in the bat ectoparasite Cimex adjunctus. BMC Evol Biol 2016; 16:268. [PMID: 27927166 PMCID: PMC5142389 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-016-0839-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2016] [Accepted: 11/25/2016] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Evolutionary histories of parasite and host populations are intimately linked such that their spatial genetic structures may be correlated. While these processes have been relatively well studied in specialist parasites and their hosts, less is known about the ecological and evolutionary consequences of relationships between generalist ectoparasites and their hosts. The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic structure and demographic history of a bat ectoparasite, Cimex adjunctus, whose host affinity is weak but the biology of the potential hosts have been well studied. This ectoparasite has been hypothesized to rely on its hosts for dispersal due to its low inherent dispersal potential. Here we describe genetic diversity and demographic history in C. adjunctus through most of its range in North America. We investigated variation at the cytochrome c oxidase 1 mitochondrial gene and nine microsatellite markers, and tested the prediction that genetic diversity in C. adjunctus is spatially structured. We also tested the prediction that demographic history in C. adjunctus is characterized by range and demographic expansion as a consequence of post-Pleistocene climate warming. Results We found stronger spatial structuring of genetic diversity in C. adjunctus than has been quantified in two of its hosts, but contrast in amount of variation explained by host association with different genetic markers (i.e., nuclear vs mitochondrial DNA). Also, C. adjunctus’ history is not primarily characterized by demographic and range expansion, as is the case with two of its key hosts. Conclusions Our study shows different patterns of genetic structure and demographic history in C. adjunctus than have been detected in two of its key hosts. Our results suggest an effect of a loose parasite-host relationship and anti-parasitism strategies on genetic structure and post-Pleistocene recovery of population size. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-016-0839-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benoit Talbot
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond Street, London, ON, Canada.
| | - Maarten J Vonhof
- Department of Biological Sciences, Western Michigan University, 1903 W Michigan Avenue, Kalamazoo, MI, USA
| | - Hugh G Broders
- Department of Biology, Saint Mary's University, 923 Robie Street, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - Brock Fenton
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond Street, London, ON, Canada
| | - Nusha Keyghobadi
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond Street, London, ON, Canada
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Wilder AP, Kunz TH, Sorenson MD. Population genetic structure of a common host predicts the spread of white-nose syndrome, an emerging infectious disease in bats. Mol Ecol 2015; 24:5495-506. [PMID: 26407297 DOI: 10.1111/mec.13396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2015] [Revised: 09/18/2015] [Accepted: 09/21/2015] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Landscape complexity influences patterns of animal dispersal, which in turn may affect both gene flow and the spread of pathogens. White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an introduced fungal disease that has spread rapidly throughout eastern North America, causing massive mortality in bat populations. We tested for a relationship between the population genetic structure of the most common host, the little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus), and the geographic spread of WNS to date by evaluating logistic regression models of WNS risk among hibernating colonies in eastern North America. We hypothesized that risk of WNS to susceptible host colonies should increase with both geographic proximity and genetic similarity, reflecting historical connectivity, to infected colonies. Consistent with this hypothesis, inclusion of genetic distance between infected and susceptible colonies significantly improved models of disease spread, capturing heterogeneity in the spatial expansion of WNS despite low levels of genetic differentiation among eastern populations. Expanding our genetic analysis to the continental range of little brown myotis reveals strongly contrasting patterns of population structure between eastern and western North America. Genetic structure increases markedly moving westward into the northern Great Plains, beyond the current distribution of WNS. In western North America, genetic differentiation of geographically proximate populations often exceeds levels observed across the entire eastern region, suggesting infrequent and/or locally restricted dispersal, and thus relatively limited opportunities for pathogen introduction in western North America. Taken together, our analyses suggest a possibly slower future rate of spread of the WNS pathogen, at least as mediated by little brown myotis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aryn P Wilder
- Department of Biology, Boston University, 5 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Thomas H Kunz
- Department of Biology, Boston University, 5 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Michael D Sorenson
- Department of Biology, Boston University, 5 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
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Vonhof MJ, Russell AL, Miller-Butterworth CM. Range-Wide Genetic Analysis of Little Brown Bat (Myotis lucifugus) Populations: Estimating the Risk of Spread of White-Nose Syndrome. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0128713. [PMID: 26154307 PMCID: PMC4495924 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0128713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2014] [Accepted: 04/29/2015] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) is one of the most widespread bat species in North America and is experiencing severe population declines because of an emerging fungal disease, white-nose syndrome (WNS). To manage and conserve this species effectively it is important to understand patterns of gene flow and population connectivity to identify possible barriers to disease transmission. However, little is known about the population genetic structure of little brown bats, and to date, no studies have investigated population structure across their entire range. We examined mitochondrial DNA and nuclear microsatellites in 637 little brown bats (including all currently recognized subspecific lineages) from 29 locations across North America, to assess levels of genetic variation and population differentiation across the range of the species, including areas affected by WNS and those currently unaffected. We identified considerable spatial variation in patterns of female dispersal and significant genetic variation between populations in eastern versus western portions of the range. Overall levels of nuclear genetic differentiation were low, and there is no evidence for any major barriers to gene flow across their range. However, patterns of mtDNA differentiation are highly variable, with high ΦST values between most sample pairs (including between all western samples, between western and eastern samples, and between some eastern samples), while low mitochondrial differentiation was observed within two groups of samples found in central and eastern regions of North America. Furthermore, the Alaskan population was highly differentiated from all others, and western populations were characterized by isolation by distance while eastern populations were not. These data raise the possibility that the current patterns of spread of WNS observed in eastern North America may not apply to the entire range and that there may be broad-scale spatial variation in the risk of WNS transmission and occurrence if the disease continues to spread west.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maarten J. Vonhof
- Department of Biological Sciences, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States of America
- Environmental and Sustainability Studies Program, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Amy L. Russell
- Department of Biology, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Michigan, United States of America
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Korstian JM, Hale AM, Williams DA. Genetic diversity, historic population size, and population structure in 2 North American tree bats. J Mammal 2015. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyv101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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McLeod B, Burns L, Frasier T, Broders H. Effect of oceanic straits on gene flow in the recently endangered little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) in maritime Canada: implications for the spread of white-nose syndrome. CAN J ZOOL 2015. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2014-0262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
White-nose syndrome is rapidly spreading in eastern North America, causing mass mortality of hibernating bats. We characterized levels of genetic diversity and population structure of the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus (Le Conte, 1831)) in eastern Canada to infer the extent to which oceanic straits may be barriers to movement. To quantify metrics of gene flow and infer movement dynamics, we genotyped 679 M. lucifugus at nine nuclear microsatellites (nDNA) and sequenced a portion of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). We found high levels of genetic diversity and little population structure, with ≈13-fold higher differentiation of mtDNA than nDNA markers, suggesting that structuring patterns largely result from female philopatry. Discriminant analysis of principle components suggested that the subtle underlying structure was not concordant with sampling site. Regional differentiation (FST, Dest, Mantel test residuals) is mostly consistent with genetic isolation by distance. However, samples from Newfoundland showed genetic differentiation over and above the effects of distance, lower levels of genetic diversity, and less genetic connectivity with other sampled regions. Despite this, oceanic straits in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence do not appear to create an impenetrable barrier to movement, therefore it may be possible for white-nose syndrome to spread to Newfoundland.
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Affiliation(s)
- B.A. McLeod
- Saint Mary’s University, Biology Department, 923 Robie Street, Halifax, NS B3H 3C3, Canada
- Nova Scotia Museum, 1747 Summer Street, Halifax, NS B3H 3A6, Canada
| | - L.E. Burns
- Dalhousie University, 6299 South Street, Halifax, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - T.R. Frasier
- Saint Mary’s University, Biology Department, 923 Robie Street, Halifax, NS B3H 3C3, Canada
| | - H.G. Broders
- Saint Mary’s University, Biology Department, 923 Robie Street, Halifax, NS B3H 3C3, Canada
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Suarez-Gonzalez A, Sutton JT, Trant AJ, Zamlynny E, Good SV. Rethinking refugia: Tree topology, divergence dates, and demographic history trace the distribution of the endangered Plymouth gentian (Sabatia kennedyana) from the Pleistocene glaciation to present day. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2015; 102:609-620. [PMID: 25878093 DOI: 10.3732/ajb.1400254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2014] [Accepted: 03/06/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE OF STUDY Molecular population genetics is a powerful tool to infer how species responded to past environmental change. In the northern hemisphere, interest is increasing in how species responded to changes in ice coverage and temperature during the last glaciation maximum (LGM, between 18000-21000 yr ago) with a common assumption that glacial refugia were located at the southern edge of a species range. METHODS We reconstructed the glacial and postglacial phylogeography of Sabatia kennedyana, a member of the Atlantic Coastal Plains Flora with a current distribution from Nova Scotia (NS) to South Carolina, using both cpDNA and nuclear markers. We also examined clinal variation in morphological traits, in particular relative investment in asexual vs sexual growth. KEY RESULTS We find strong evidence that the species did not reside in southern glacial refugia, but rather in primary glacial refugia off the exposed continental shelf extending from Cape Cod and that this area was responsible for the founding of modern populations across the range from Nova Scotia (NS) to the United States. Additionally, based on the finding of higher cpDNA diversity and older cpDNA lineages in NS, we propose that multiple founder events occurred in NS, while only a single lineage gave rise to current populations in the United States. CONCLUSIONS By understanding how S. kennedyana responded to past shifts in climate and by identifying areas of high genetic diversity in the northern range edge, we discuss the potential response of the species to future climate change scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriana Suarez-Gonzalez
- Department of Biology, The University of Winnipeg, 599 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3B 2G3, Canada Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, 3529-6270 University Blvd., Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Jolene T Sutton
- Department of Biology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, 2538 McCarthy Mall, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822 USA Department of Biology, Acadia University, 33 Westwood Avenue, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, B4P 2R6, Canada
| | - Andrew J Trant
- School of Environmental Studies, P. O. Box 3060, STN CSC, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, V8W 3R4, Canada Department of Biology, Acadia University, 33 Westwood Avenue, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, B4P 2R6, Canada
| | - Elena Zamlynny
- Department of Biology, Acadia University, 33 Westwood Avenue, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, B4P 2R6, Canada Department of Chemistry, Acadia University, 6 University Avenue, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, B4P 2R6, Canada
| | - Sara V Good
- Department of Biology, The University of Winnipeg, 599 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3B 2G3, Canada Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, 3529-6270 University Blvd., Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z4, Canada
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