High population differentiation in the rock-dwelling land snail (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Trochulus caelatus</Emphasis>) endemic to the Swiss Jura Mountains |
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Authors: | Sylvain Ursenbacher Caren Alvarez Georg F J Armbruster Bruno Baur |
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Institution: | 1.Department of Environmental Sciences, Section of Conservation Biology,University of Basel,Basel,Switzerland;2.Botanisches Institut der Universit?t Basel,Basel,Switzerland |
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Abstract: | Understanding patterns of genetic structure is fundamental for developing successful management programmes for isolated populations
of threatened species. Trochulus caelatus is a small terrestrial snail endemic to calcareous rock cliffs in the Northwestern Swiss Jura Mountains. Eight microsatellite
loci were used to assess the effect of habitat isolation on genetic population structure and gene flow among nine populations
occurring on distinct cliffs. We found a high genetic differentiation among populations (mean F
ST = 0.254) indicating that the populations are strongly isolated. Both allelic richness and effective population size were
positively correlated with the size of the cliffs. Our findings support the hypothesis that T. caelatus survived on ice-free cliffs during the Pleistocene glacier advancements from the Alps. Due to the establishment of beech
and pine forest under recent, temperate climate conditions, dispersal between cliffs is no longer possible for rock-dwelling
snails such as T. caelatus. Our results provide basic data for developing a conservation action plan for this endangered gastropod species. |
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