Limited genetic structure and evidence for dispersal among populations of the endangered Florida grasshopper sparrow, Ammodramus savannarum floridanus |
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Authors: | Kristin A. Mylecraine Natalie L. Bulgin H. Lisle Gibbs Peter D. Vickery Dustin W. Perkins |
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Affiliation: | (1) Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, 300 Aronoff Laboratory, 318 West 12th Ave., Columbus, OH 43210, USA;(2) Department of Biology, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, Canada, L8S 4K1;(3) Center for Ecological Research, Richmond, ME 04357, USA;(4) Department of Biology, Mesa State College, Northern Colorado Plateau Network, National Park Service, 1100 North Ave., Grand Junction, CO 81501, USA |
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Abstract: | The Florida grasshopper sparrow, Ammodramus savannarum floridanus, is a non-migratory, endangered subspecies endemic to the prairie region of south-central Florida. It has experienced significant population declines and is currently restricted to five locations. We found substantial levels of variation in microsatellites and mtDNA control region sequences, estimates of inbreeding genetic effective population sizes that were much larger than the estimated census size, and no evidence of inbreeding within five sampled populations (n = 105). We also found a lack of genetic structure among populations (F ST = 0.0123 for microsatellites and θ = 0.008 for mtDNA), and evidence for dispersal between populations, with 7.6% of all individuals identified as immigrants to their population of capture. We suggest that the subspecies be managed as a single management unit on a regional scale rather than as multiple management units on a local subpopulation scale. There is still a limited opportunity to preserve much of the present genetic variation in this subspecies, if immediate measures are taken to reverse the current population decline before this variation is reduced by genetic drift. |
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Keywords: | Dispersal Endangered species Assignment test Conservation genetics Effective population size Immigration |
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