Evolutionary History and Not Heterochronic Modifications Associated with Viviparity Drive Head Shape Differentiation in a Reproductive Polymorphic Species, Salamandra salamandra

Alarcón-Ríos, Lucía; Nicieza, Alfredo G.; Kaliontzopoulou, Antigoni; Buckley, David; Velo‐Antón, Guillermo

doi:10.1007/s11692-019-09489-3

Cited by 11 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…The study was conducted at the Ornithological Reserve of Mindelo and two nearby localities at Porto, Portugal, where the target species has previously been studied (e.g., Alarcón‐Ríos, Nicieza, Kaliontzopoulou, Buckley, & Velo‐Antón, 2020). The species selected for targeted detection, the fire salamander ( Salamandra salamandra ), is a urodele species widespread across Europe.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Species detection from aquatic eDNA: Assessing the importance of capture methods

Peixoto

Chaves²,

Velo‐Antón³

et al. 2020

Environmental DNA

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Environmental DNA (eDNA) is increasingly used for biodiversity monitoring, particularly in aquatic systems. However, each step, from sample collection to bioinformatic analysis, can introduce biases and influence the reliability of results. While much effort has been put into the optimization of laboratory methods, less attention has been devoted to estimate the impacts of eDNA capture methods. To address this issue, water samples were collected at nine small ponds and puddles where up to 10 amphibian species occur, using precipitation, disc filters, and capsules. We focused on targeted detection of an amphibian species, Salamandra salamandra, and on the composition of the whole amphibian community. Species detection was performed using a novel qPCR assay for S. salamandra and high‐throughput sequencing, combined with stringent versus relaxed PCR replication thresholds. Filtration techniques (disc filters and capsules) outperformed precipitation, generating a higher number of detections of S. salamandra and higher amounts of captured eDNA, while species detection was identical between disc filters and capsules. There were no significant differences between capture methods regarding amphibian community composition. The variation in detection success associated with capture methods was far higher than that associated with PCR replication, regardless of the detection method used. Our results highlight the importance of choosing a suitable capture method for eDNA studies and suggest that the choice of capture method outweighs the choice of detection method used. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to compare high‐capacity capsules with common eDNA methods for water samples, such as precipitation and standard disc filters.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Species detection from aquatic eDNA: Assessing the importance of capture methods

Peixoto

Chaves²,

Velo‐Antón³

et al. 2020

Environmental DNA

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“…Besides variation in reproductive modes and other phenotypic traits (e.g. colouration), S. s. bernardezi is on average smaller (mean ± SD body size: 79 ± 8.4 mm) than S. s. gallaica larviparous salamanders (115 ± 9,1 mm) (Velo-Antón and Alarcón-Ríos et al, 2020b). Because body size is positively correlated with locomotor performance and dispersal distances, we cannot discard this phenotypic trait may enable larviparous salamanders overcoming more easily these aquatic barriers compared to pueriparous salamanders and, therefore, contributing for a lower genetic structure in the former.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Riverine barriers to gene flow in a salamander with both aquatic and terrestrial reproduction

Vázquez¹,

Lourenço²,

Velo‐Antón

2021

Preprint

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The riverine barrier hypothesis (RBH) posits that rivers comprise geographical barriers to gene flow for terrestrial organisms, thus promoting genetic differentiation between populations. Here, we explored the RBH on larviparous and pueriparous populations of the live-bearing fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra). While larviparous fire salamanders exhibit a semi-aquatic life cycle (females deposit pre-metamorphic larvae on water), pueriparous salamanders present a fully terrestrial life cycle (females deliver terrestrial juveniles) and, therefore, a greater independence from water for survival and reproduction. We performed a fine-scale sampling of opposite transects in 11 rivers (six and five for larviparous and pueriparous populations, respectively) to test the hypothesis that rivers are more effective barriers for pueriparous salamanders due to their fully terrestrial life cycle. We carried out individual- and population-based genetic analyses using 14 microsatellites and a mitochondrial marker to examine the extent to which rivers hinder short- and long-term gene flow. We found that rivers are semi-permeable obstacles for both larviparous and pueriparous populations, although they appear to be more effective barriers for the latter when rivers with similar attributes are compared. We also found that river width and possibly the presence of crossing structures may influence the genetic barrier effects of rivers in fire salamanders. This is one of the very few studies in amphibians showing how different reproductive strategies influence the barrier effects imposed by rivers.

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“…We used a fine-scale individual sampling, and combined one mitochondrial gene (cytochrome b) and 15 microsatellites markers in a landscape genetics approach to: (1) delimit and characterise the range of S. s. bernardezi ; (2) identify patterns of introgression and quantify levels of admixture between pueriparous and larviparous subspecies in each contact zone; and (3) evaluate the role of environmental and geographic factors in explaining genetic admixture between the different subspecies. Considering previous studies examining phenotypic and/or genetic patterns across northern Iberian populations of S. salamandra 29 , 31 , 35 – 38 , we hypothesize that some degree of genetic admixture occurs between subspecies in all contact zones. However, we expect the level of admixture to depend upon the environmental heterogeneity in each area and, therefore, we expect reduced rates of hybridization under IBE or IBR scenarios.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Salamandra s. bernardezi and S. s. fastuosa are relatively small salamanders (body size up to 180 mm 27 ), with stripe colouration pattern (dorsal yellow and black bands), and round snout 29 . While the former is strictly pueriparous 27 , 37 , the latter is mostly larviparous despite also presenting pueriparity across its range 34 (Fig.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Landscape resistance constrains hybridization across contact zones in a reproductively and morphologically polymorphic salamander

Velo‐Antón

Lourenço

Galán

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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Explicitly accounting for phenotypic differentiation together with environmental heterogeneity is crucial to understand the evolutionary dynamics in hybrid zones. Species showing intra-specific variation in phenotypic traits that meet across environmentally heterogeneous regions constitute excellent natural settings to study the role of phenotypic differentiation and environmental factors in shaping the spatial extent and patterns of admixture in hybrid zones. We studied three environmentally distinct contact zones where morphologically and reproductively divergent subspecies of Salamandra salamandra co-occur: the pueriparous S. s. bernardezi that is mostly parapatric to its three larviparous subspecies neighbours. We used a landscape genetics framework to: (i) characterise the spatial location and extent of each contact zone; (ii) assess patterns of introgression and hybridization between subspecies pairs; and (iii) examine the role of environmental heterogeneity in the evolutionary dynamics of hybrid zones. We found high levels of introgression between parity modes, and between distinct phenotypes, thus demonstrating the evolution to pueriparity alone or morphological differentiation do not lead to reproductive isolation between these highly divergent S. salamandra morphotypes. However, we detected substantial variation in patterns of hybridization across contact zones, being lower in the contact zone located on a topographically complex area. We highlight the importance of accounting for spatial environmental heterogeneity when studying evolutionary dynamics of hybrid zones.

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Evolutionary History and Not Heterochronic Modifications Associated with Viviparity Drive Head Shape Differentiation in a Reproductive Polymorphic Species, Salamandra salamandra

Cited by 11 publications

References 64 publications

Species detection from aquatic eDNA: Assessing the importance of capture methods

Species detection from aquatic eDNA: Assessing the importance of capture methods

Riverine barriers to gene flow in a salamander with both aquatic and terrestrial reproduction

Landscape resistance constrains hybridization across contact zones in a reproductively and morphologically polymorphic salamander

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