Genetic Diversity of Black Salamanders (Aneides flavipunctatus) across Watersheds in the Klamath Mountains

Abstract

Abstract:Here we characterize the genetic structure of Black Salamanders (Aneides flavipunctatus) in the Klamath Mountains of northwestern California and southwestern Oregon using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences. We hypothesized that the Sacramento, Smith, Klamath, and Rogue River watersheds would represent distinct genetic populations based on prior ecological results, which suggest that Black Salamanders avoid high elevations such as the ridges that separate watersheds. Our mitochondrial results revealed two major lineages, one in the Sacramento River watershed, and another containing the Klamath, Smith, and Rogue River watersheds. Clustering analyses of our thirteen nuclear loci show the Sacramento watershed population to be genetically distinctive. Populations in the Klamath, Smith, and Rogue watersheds are also distinctive but not as differentiated and their boundaries do not correspond to watersheds. Our historical demographic analyses suggest that the Sacramento population has been isolated from the Klamath populations since the mid-Pleistocene, with negligible subsequent gene flow (2 Nm ≤ 0.1). The Smith and Rogue River watershed populations 658show genetic signals of recent population expansion. These results suggest that the Sacramento River and Klamath River watersheds served as Pleistocene refugia, and that the Rogue and Smith River watersheds were colonized more recently by northward range expansion from the Klamath.

Cryptic diversity and biogeographical patterns within the black salamander (Aneides flavipunctatus) complex

“…Tissues were obtained from 240 individuals of Aneides flavipunctatus from 136 localities throughout north-western California and southern Oregon. DNA sequences used in previous molecular studies of A. flavipunctatus (Rissler & Apodaca, 2007;Reilly et al, 2012Reilly et al, , 2013 were downloaded from GenBank (accession numbers: AY274627-AY274756, JX544070-JX544733, KF056387-KF056791). Localities for all specimens used in genetic analysis are presented in Appendix S1 (Fig.…”

“…Subsequent work identified contact zones between genetically distinct populations at the Willits/Longvale area of Mendo-cino County, with varying levels of gene flow between the three ecomorphs of the region (Reilly et al, 2012). Additionally, a major genetic break was detected between salamanders in Shasta County and salamanders from the western Klamath Mountains, where gene flow is essentially absent between these populations (Reilly et al, 2013).…”

Genomic data reveal ancient microendemism in forest scorpions across the California Floristic Province

“…; Reilly et al . ; Reilly & Wake ). Although these topographically complex mountains formed well over 10 Mya, renewed Late Miocene–Pliocene uplifting and restructuring of drainages (Mortimer & Coleman ; Aalto ) may have isolated Uroctonus in the Klamath Mountains from nearby groups to the south and north (Fig.…”

Phylogeographic comparison of five large-bodied aquatic insect species across the western USA

“…In contrast, populations that were founded more recently often have signatures of founder effects or bottlenecks (Theissinger et al 2011, Pessino et al 2014. Previous studies suggest the Klamath-Siskiyou mountains in northern California as a potential Pleistocene glacial refugia for aquatic-associated rough-skinned newts, Pacific giant salamanders, and black salamanders (Kuchta and Tan 2005, Steele and Storfer 2006, Reilly et al 2013. Some studies of salamanders have suggested multiple refugia, including the Columbia River in northern Oregon/Washington (Steele and Storfer 2006) or the Sacramento River in California (Reilly et al 2013).…”