TY - JOUR

T1 - Historical ecology meets conservation and evolutionary genetics

T2 - a secondary contact zone between Carabus violaceus (Coleoptera: Carabidae) populations inhabiting ancient and recent woodlands in north-western Germany

AU - Matern, Andrea

AU - Drees, Claudia

AU - Härdtle, Werner

AU - Oheimb, Goddert

AU - Aßmann, Thorsten

PY - 2011/5/20

Y1 - 2011/5/20

N2 - Only very few cases have documented that an increase in connectivity after a period of fragmentation in ecological time has had an eff ect on the distribution, genetic structure and morphology of stenotopic species. In this study we present an example of clinal variability in a woodland ground beetle as a result of changes in the connectivity of a landscape during the last two centuries. The study area hosts both the nominate form C. violaceus s. str. and the subspecies C. v. purpurascens, which is ranked as a distinct species by some authors. We studied 12 Carabus violaceus populations from a 30 km transect of ancient and recent forests in north-western Germany. We analyzed three polymorphic enzyme loci, classifi ed the elytron sculpture and measured the shape of the aedeagus tip of the specimens. C. violaceus showed secondary gradients both in allozyme markers and morphometric characters in our study area. A genetic diff erentiation of 16% between the populations is high but lies within the range of intraspecifi c variability in habitat specialists of the genus Carabus. Populations had no signifi cant defi cit of heterozygotes. We found many hybrid populations in terms of morphological properties. Th is study highlights the conservation value of ancient woodland and the consequences of landscape connectivity and defragmentation on the genetic setting of a ground beetle. Moreover, it shows that diff erences in the external shape of male genitalia do not prevent gene fl ow within the genus Carabus. Th us, the establishment of species status should not exclusively be based on this property.

AB - Only very few cases have documented that an increase in connectivity after a period of fragmentation in ecological time has had an eff ect on the distribution, genetic structure and morphology of stenotopic species. In this study we present an example of clinal variability in a woodland ground beetle as a result of changes in the connectivity of a landscape during the last two centuries. The study area hosts both the nominate form C. violaceus s. str. and the subspecies C. v. purpurascens, which is ranked as a distinct species by some authors. We studied 12 Carabus violaceus populations from a 30 km transect of ancient and recent forests in north-western Germany. We analyzed three polymorphic enzyme loci, classifi ed the elytron sculpture and measured the shape of the aedeagus tip of the specimens. C. violaceus showed secondary gradients both in allozyme markers and morphometric characters in our study area. A genetic diff erentiation of 16% between the populations is high but lies within the range of intraspecifi c variability in habitat specialists of the genus Carabus. Populations had no signifi cant defi cit of heterozygotes. We found many hybrid populations in terms of morphological properties. Th is study highlights the conservation value of ancient woodland and the consequences of landscape connectivity and defragmentation on the genetic setting of a ground beetle. Moreover, it shows that diff erences in the external shape of male genitalia do not prevent gene fl ow within the genus Carabus. Th us, the establishment of species status should not exclusively be based on this property.

KW - Biology

KW - fragmentation

KW - afforestation

KW - allozymes

KW - morphometrics

KW - Carabus violaceus purpurascens

KW - hybrid zone

KW - hybridization

KW - Afforestation

KW - Allozymes

KW - Carabus violaceus purpurascens

KW - Fragmentation

KW - Hybrid zone

KW - Hybridization

KW - Morphometrics

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79959977695&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/ce93df0d-75f6-3b79-83ef-8054d8d9f724/

U2 - 10.3897/zookeys.100.1546

DO - 10.3897/zookeys.100.1546

M3 - Journal articles

C2 - 21738433

VL - 100

SP - 545

EP - 563

JO - ZooKeys

JF - ZooKeys

SN - 1313-2989

IS - SPEC. ISSUE

M1 - 1546

ER -