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Human-induced versus historical habitat shifts: identifying the processes that shaped the genetic structure of the threatened grassland legless lizard, Delma impar

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Abstract

Historical and contemporary events are known to affect the genetic structure and diversity of species. Thus, in order to design effective conservation management strategies for threatened species, it is important to identify the processes that shaped their genetic patterns. The Striped Legless Lizard, Delma impar, is currently listed as a threatened species, and is restricted to the temperate grasslands of south eastern Australia. This habitat has undergone both historical climatic and recent anthropogenic distributional changes. We used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and microsatellite markers to examine the phylogeography and population genetic structure of D. impar. Analysis of mtDNA revealed four distinct historically isolated lineages with high levels of genetic divergence that have been isolated for more than 1 million years. These lineages should be considered separate Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESU) for management purposes. Analysis of microsatellite genotypes did not reveal evidence of strong population sub-structuring despite recent anthropogenic fragmentation within the south west Victorian ESU. However, three populations were identified by the program Structure, which coincide with the transition of two regions with distinct soil and vegetation characteristics. Spatial autocorrelation analyses indicate that D. impar do not disperse long distances as they are genetically structured at distances less than 400 m.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Ted Rohr, Cath Grant, Nick Clemman, Bertram Lobert, Steve Smith, Chris Banks, Mike Swan and Dan Harley for providing samples of D. impar to us for this study. Robert Palmer, John Wombey and Leo Joseph provided tissues from the Australian National Wildlife Collection. We would also like to thank Josh Hale for input into genetic analysis, Stephanie Chapple for assistance in the molecular laboratory and Leticia Hosta for support with computer software. This research was funded by the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment (Australia) and the Australian Commonwealth Government via the Corangamite, Glenelg Hopkins and Wimmera Catchment Management Authorities and conducted under the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment, Research Permit 10004675.

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Maldonado, S.P., Melville, J., Peterson, G.N.L. et al. Human-induced versus historical habitat shifts: identifying the processes that shaped the genetic structure of the threatened grassland legless lizard, Delma impar . Conserv Genet 13, 1329–1342 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-012-0377-3

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