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AUTHORS. Justin Waraniak, Justin Fischer, Kevin Purcell - North Dakota State University; David Mushet, US Geological Survey; Craig Stockwell, North Dakota State University
ABSTRACT. Landscape features and climatic history play large roles in structuring the populations of many species, including amphibians like northern leopard frog (Lithobates pipiens). Landscape genetic analyses can be used for determining how landscape, climate, or other factors are impacting biotic connectivity in populations of conservation concern. Northern leopard frogs were sampled across 41 sites in North Dakota and 30 individuals from each sampling site were genotyped at 12 microsatellite loci. Ten genetically distinct populations were identified using Bayesian and multivariate methods. Approximate Bayesian computation of divergence times between these populations indicated a major divergence between populations on the east and west sides of the Missouri River between 18,100 and 13,600 generations ago, approximately at the end of the last glacial maximum. Other population divergence estimates ranged from 10,900 to 860 generations ago and appear to coincide with periods of drought during the Holocene. Partial redundancy analysis and spatial principal components analysis revealed that watersheds and the Missouri River as a barrier to gene flow could explain most of the genetic differentiation between populations. These analyses suggest populations of northern leopard frog in North Dakota are largely structured by historical expansions to the east of the Missouri River out of refugia after the last glacial maximum and by reduced connectivity between watersheds during extended periods of extreme drought.
Tuesday January 30, 2018 9:40am - 10:00am CST
101B