23 research outputs found
Stand out from the crowd: Small-scale genetic structuring in the endemic sicilian pond turtle
The geographical pattern of genetic diversity was investigated in the endemic Sicilian pond turtle Emys trinacris across its entire distribution range, using 16 microsatellite loci. Overall, 245 specimens of E. trinacris were studied, showing high polymorphic microsatellite loci, with allele numbers ranging from 7 to 30. STRUCTURE and GENELAND analyses showed a noteworthy, geographically based structuring of the studied populations in five well-characterized clusters, supported by a moderate degree of genetic diversity (FST values between 0.075 and 0.160). Possible explanations for the genetic fragmentation observed are provided, where both natural and human-mediated habitat fragmentation of the Sicilian wetlands played a major role in this process. Finally, some conservation and management suggestions aimed at preventing the loss of genetic variability of the species are briefly reported, stressing the importance of considering the five detected clusters as independent Management Units
The good, the bad and the ugly: Emys trinacris, Placobdella costata and Haemogregarina stepanowi in Sicily (Testudines, Annelida and Apicomplexa)
Endemic Sicilian pond turtles Emys trinacris Fritz, Fattizzo, Guicking, Tripepi, Pennisi, Lenk, Joger et Wink were examined for the presence of haemogregarine parasites. The presence of haemogregarines, occurring mainly in the microgametocyte stage (13.2 ± 0.12 μm in length and 6.4 ± 0.52 μm in width), was observed in approximately 9% of the sampled E. trinacris. Based on the observed morphology and on the sequencing of nuclear 18S rDNA, we identified the parasite as Haemogregarina stepanowi Danilewsky, 1885. Morphometric study of uninfected and infected red blood cells has shown that H. stepanowi induces different changes in erythrocyte shape depending on the infective stage. The differential count of leukocytes in specimens infected with H. stepanowi showed no significant difference compared with healthy specimens. However, considering the health problems which might be induced by H. stepanowi in the closely related European pond turtle Emys orbicularis (Linneaus), monitoring of the health status of the infected Sicilian populations of E. trinacris is desirable. The restricted distribution of populations of Emys infected with haemogregarines in Sicily is quite puzzling and the possible human-mediated introduction of the parasite in Sicily is briefly discussed
Complex hybridization patterns in European pond turtles (Emys orbicularis) in the Pyrenean Region
Hybrid zones are natural laboratories allowing insights in genetic processes like lineage diversification, speciation and introgression. Using large sampling, 15 microsatellite loci and a mitochondrial marker, we examined the Pyrenean contact zone of three pond turtle taxa (Emys orbicularis orbicularis, E. o. galloitalica, E. o. occidentalis). The Pyrenees are a biogeographically important region separating many lineages endemic to the Iberian Peninsula from their Western European counterparts. We discovered limited admixture, reflecting a complex biogeographic scenario. Simulations using Approximate Bayesian Computing supported that E. o. orbicularis invaded the Iberian Peninsula in the Holocene, circumventing the Pyrenees along the Mediterranean coast, and hybridized in the northern peninsula with the local coastal subspecies galloitalica, and to a lesser extent, with occidentalis. While E. o. occidentalis, and in particular E. o. orbicularis, expanded their ranges considerably during Holocene warming, E. o. galloitalica remained largely confined to its former Iberian refuge. Admixture among the three taxa is surprisingly low, and a future taxonomic investigation that includes the unstudied subspecies of E. orbicularis from North Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia has to determine whether their current status properly reflects their evolutionary divergence or whether certain taxa should be regarded as full species
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Tropical ancient DNA reveals relationships of the extinct Bahamian giant tortoise Chelonoidis alburyorum
Ancient DNA of extinct species from the Pleistocene and Holocene has provided valuable evolutionary insights. However, these are largely restricted to mammals and high latitudes because DNA preservation in warm climates is typically poor. In the tropics and subtropics, non-avian reptiles constitute a significant part of the fauna and little is known about the genetics of the many extinct reptiles from tropical islands. We have reconstructed the near-complete mitochondrial genome of an extinct giant tortoise from the Bahamas (Chelonoidis alburyorum) using an approximately 1 000-year-old humerus from a water-filled sinkhole (blue hole) on Great Abaco Island. Phylogenetic and molecular clock analyses place this extinct species as closely related to Galápagos (C. niger complex) and Chaco tortoises (C. chilensis), and provide evidence for repeated overseas dispersal in this tortoise group. The ancestors of extant Chelonoidis species arrived in South America from Africa only after the opening of the Atlantic Ocean and dispersed from there to the Caribbean and the Galápagos Islands. Our results also suggest that the anoxic, thermally buffered environment of blue holes may enhance DNA preservation, and thus are opening a window for better understanding evolution and population history of extinct tropical species, which would likely still exist without human impact
Where are you from, stranger? The enigmatic biogeography of North African pond turtles (Emys orbicularis) .
Abstract The European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis) is a
Nearctic element in the African fauna and thought to have
invaded North Africa from the Iberian Peninsula. All North
African populations are currently identified with the subspecies
E. o. occidentalis. However, a nearly range-wide sampling in
North Africa used for analyses of mitochondrial and microsatellite
DNA provides evidence that only Moroccan populations
belong to this taxon, while eastern Algerian and Tunisian pond
turtles represent an undescribed distinct subspecies. These two
taxa are most closely related to E. o. galloitalica with a native
distribution along the Mediterranean coast of northern Spain
through southern France to western and southern Italy. This
group is sister to a clade comprising several mitochondrial lineages
and subspecies of E. orbicularis from Central and Eastern
Europe plus Asia, and the successive sisters are E. o. hellenica
and E. trinacris. Our results suggest that E. orbicularis has been
present in North Africa longer than on the Iberian Peninsula and
that after an initial invasion of North Africa by pond turtles from
an unknown European source region, there was a phase of
diversification in North Africa, followed by a later re-invasion
of Europe by one of the African lineages. The differentiation of
pond turtles in North Africa parallels a general phylogeographic
paradigm in amphibians and reptiles, with deeply divergent
lineages in the western and eastern Maghreb. Acknowledging
their genetic similarity, we propose to synonymize the previously
recognized Iberian subspecies E. o. fritzjuergenobsti with E. o.
occidentalis sensu stricto. The seriously imperiled Moroccan
populations of E. o. occidentalis represent two Management
Units different in mitochondrial haplotypes and microsatellite
markers. The conservation status of eastern Algerian pond turtles
is unclear, while Tunisian populations are endangered.
Considering that Algerian and Tunisian pond turtles represent
an endemic taxon, their situation throughout the historical range
should be surveyed to establish a basis for conservation
measures
Climatic and topographic changes since the Miocene influenced the diversification and biogeography of the tent tortoise (Psammobates tentorius) species complex in Southern Africa
Background: Climatic and topographic changes function as key drivers in shaping genetic structure and cladogenic
radiation in many organisms. Southern Africa has an exceptionally diverse tortoise fauna, harbouring one-third of
the world’s tortoise genera. The distribution of Psammobates tentorius (Kuhl, 1820) covers two of the 25 biodiversity
hotspots in the world, the Succulent Karoo and Cape Floristic Region. The highly diverged P. tentorius represents an
excellent model species for exploring biogeographic and radiation patterns of reptiles in Southern Africa.
Results: We investigated genetic structure and radiation patterns against temporal and spatial dimensions since the
Miocene in the Psammobates tentorius species complex, using multiple types of DNA markers and niche modelling
analyses. Cladogenesis in P. tentorius started in the late Miocene (11.63–5.33 Ma) when populations dispersed from
north to south to form two geographically isolated groups. The northern group diverged into a clade north of the
Orange River (OR), followed by the splitting of the group south of the OR into a western and an interior clade. The
latter divergence corresponded to the intensifcation of the cold Benguela current, which caused western aridifcation
and rainfall seasonality. In the south, tectonic uplift and subsequent exhumation, together with climatic fuctuations
seemed responsible for radiations among the four southern clades since the late Miocene. We found that each clade
occurred in a habitat shaped by diferent climatic parameters, and that the niches difered substantially among the
clades of the northern group but were similar among clades of the southern group.
Conclusion: Climatic shifts, and biome and geographic changes were possibly the three major driving forces shaping cladogenesis and genetic structure in Southern African tortoise species. Our results revealed that the cladogenesis
of the P. tentorius species complex was probably shaped by environmental cooling, biome shifts and topographic
uplift in Southern Africa since the late Miocene. The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) may have impacted the distribution
of P. tentorius substantially. We found the taxonomic diversify of the P. tentorius species complex to be highest in the
Greater Cape Floristic Region. All seven clades discovered warrant conservation attention, particularly Ptt-B–Ptr, Ptt-A
and Pv-
Current Status of and Threats to Sicilian Turtles
Based on the critical review of the literature published in the last 22 years, an attempt was made to evaluate the current knowledge gap on the distribution and status of the native Testudines taxa occurring in Sicily (namely Caretta caretta, Emys trinacris, and Testudo hermanni hermanni), as well as the available knowledge of the only non-native species with putative viable populations occurring on the island, i.e., Trachemys scripta. Summarizing the current information, all of the Testudines species occurring in Sicily showed a fragmented and incompletely-known distribution, and only scarce data are available about their phenology. Moreover, despite their inclusion of international and national laws (Bern Convention, CITES, Habitat directive), all three native species are facing several threats (e.g., habitat alteration, the occurrence of invasive species, parasite spillover) leading to a reduction of their populations on the island. Future monitoring programs on the island should be enhanced, with an emphasis on those taxa in decline. Moreover, involve Citizen Science programs should also be implemented in order to increase the awareness of non-experts and facilitate the monitoring task
Addressing the attitudinal gap towards improving the environment: a case study from a primary school in Slovenia
It is widely acknowledged that environmental literacy, in the early stages of education, can provide a strong foundation for future environmental behaviours, as well as help in the transition towards more sustainable societies. This paper is based upon an evaluation of the environmental attitudes of students in a primary school in rural Slovenia. The attitudes were assessed according to the students' behaviours in their family (primary) and school (secondary) and family contexts. The results show that traditional teaching, in this school, accounts for only one-third of the recognised factors that influence the students' environmental behaviours. The other factors that foster environmental behaviours include the primary and secondary social environments, the structural and infrastructural condition in the school, and gender, where emotional attitudes play a key role. The authors suggest that, in order to more adequately address the gap between learning and acting, school administrators, teachers, parents, and other stakeholders should integrate an array of sustainability issues throughout formal and informal efforts so as to more effectively encourage the development of positive environmental attitudes, and behaviours among their youth and among themselves as role models. Additionally, school principals are urged to improve infrastructural and structural, attitudinal and procedural parameters at the schools, and to change the curricula in order to foster pro-environmental behaviours
Unexpected hybridization patterns in Near Eastern terrapins (Mauremys caspica, M. rivulata) indicate ancient gene flow across the Fertile Crescent
Recent studies indicate that hybridization in animals occurs more frequently than previously thought and that it may play an important evolutionary role. Chelonians are capable of extensive hybridization, raising the question how chelonian species evolve and maintain genetic integrity despite hybridization. Here, we use two sister species with parapatric distribution, Mauremys caspica and M. rivulata, as our model. These taxa are estimated to have diverged some 5.3–7.0 million years ago. Using rangewide sampling and 13 unlinked polymorphic microsatellite markers, five nuclear loci and one mitochondrial gene, we show that hybridization is rare along the contact zone of the two species in Turkey. However, we discovered an unexpected hybrid swarm in the southern Levant that has been hitherto identified with M. rivulata. This hybrid swarm is separated from the inland species M. caspica by a 700-km-wide distribution gap corresponding to the Syrian Desert. Ecological palaeomodelling suggests that during more humid climatic episodes in the Last Glacial Maximum and mid-Holocene, the current contact zone extended into the southern Levant, facilitating the establishment of the now isolated hybrid swarm. Our results support that there is not necessarily a general hybridization pattern in a given species couple and that the extent of gene flow may differ considerably in different parts of the distribution range. Moreover, our results highlight that studies on hybridization should not focus only on extant contact and hybrid zones, but should use rangewide sampling to detect signals of ancient hybridization that might otherwise be missed. © 2016 Royal Swedish Academy of SciencesDeutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft: FR 1435/7-2, FR 1435/7-1 Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft 184748/4414Fieldwork and sampling in Turkey were permitted and conducted under the research project TBAG-2402 103T189 of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (T?BITAK). Maria Dimaki assisted with obtaining the permit for fieldwork and sampling in Greece; the permit (184748/4414) was issued by the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change of Greece. Fieldwork and sampling in Croatia were performed under the permit of Du?an Jeli? (State Institute for Nature Protection, Zagreb). Ole Reuter, Gregor Lipov?ek, Maja Sopotnik and Andrej Vehar helped with fieldwork. Markus Auer, Henrik Brings?e, Kerim ?i?ek, Jelka Crnobrnja-Isajlovi?, Johannes Els, Daniel Frynta, V?clav Gvo?d?k, Mario Herz, Anna Hundsd?rfer, Haji Gholi Kami, Jan Lehmann, J?r?me Maran, Lyudmila F. Mazanaeva, Ahmet Mermr, Michael Reimann, Lina Rifai, Tea ?ili?, Roy Talbi, Murat Tosuno?lu, Cemal Varol Tok and Ben Wielstra donated samples. Anke M?ller assisted with laboratory work. Krister T. Smith, Rebecca Biton, Hartman Gideon and Martin P?ckert provided literature and helpful discussions. Language and style of the manuscript were improved by Margaretha Hofmeyr. Laboratory work was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG; FR 1435/7-1 and FR 1435/7-2). -