Genetic erosion in habitat specialist shows need to protect large peat bogs

The specialized fauna of peat bogs declines strongly both in species numbers and population density and becomes fragmented because of anthropogenic land use changes. We investigated 15 populations of the stenotopic ground beetle species Agonum ericeti in south Sweden to address the question of reduced genetic variability in populations inhabiting smaller habitat patches. Our results reveal a generally low differentiation and a significant positive relationship between habitat size and allelic richness.