The interplay between colonization history and gene flow in passively dispersing zooplankton: microsatellite analysis of rotifer resting egg banks

To what degree are patterns of genetic structure in fragmented systems the result of contemporary landscape versus history? We examined the distribution of genetic diversity as a function of colonization history and contemporary landscape in four fish species inhabiting a hierarchically fragmented, unaltered system, the Kogaluk drainage (Labrador): lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), longnose sucker (Catostomus catostomus), round whitefish (Prosopium cylindraceum), and lake chub (Couesius plumbeus). The footprint of colonization history was still observable in the three species where this issue was examined regardless of the generations since their arrival. Approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) analyses suggest colonization took place from the southwest. The species exhibit similar diversity patterns despite different [Formula: see text] values and generation intervals. Contemporary gene flow was largely negligible except for gene flow from a centrally located lake. These results suggest landscape has driven colonization history, which still has influence on genetic structuring. The species are widespread. Understanding how they behave in the pristine Kogaluk provides a baseline against which to evaluate how other anthropogenically perturbed systems are performing. Improved understanding of historical and contemporary processes is required to fully explain diversity patterns in complex metapopulations.

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Highly replicated evolution of parapatric ecotypes

10.1101/2020.02.05.936401 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Maddie E. James ◽

Henry Arenas-Castro ◽

Jeffery S. Groh ◽

Jan Engelstädter ◽

Daniel Ortiz-Barrientos

Keyword(s):

Gene Flow ◽

Genetic Structure ◽

Incomplete Lineage Sorting ◽

Parallel Evolution ◽

Geographic Location ◽

Lineage Sorting ◽

Colonization History ◽

Multiple Origins ◽

History Of ◽

Neutral Markers

AbstractParallel evolution of ecotypes occurs when selection independently drives the evolution of similar traits across similar environments. The multiple origin of ecotypes is often inferred on the basis of a phylogeny which clusters populations according to geographic location and not by the environment they occupy. However, the use of phylogenies to infer parallel evolution in closely related populations is problematic due to the potential for gene flow and incomplete lineage sorting to uncouple the genetic structure at neutral markers from the colonization history of populations. Here, we demonstrate multiple origins within ecotypes of an Australian wildflower, Senecio lautus. We observed strong genetic structure as well as phylogenetic clustering by geography, and show this is unlikely due to gene flow between parapatric ecotypes, which is surprisingly low. We further confirm this analytically by demonstrating that phylogenetic distortion due to gene flow often requires higher levels of migration than those observed in S. lautus. Our results imply that selection can repeatedly create similar phenotypes despite the perceived homogenizing effects of gene flow.

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