Mitochondrial DNA diversity and phylogeography of Lucania interioris inform biodiversity conservation in the Cuatro Ciénegas Basin, México

Authors

Evan W. Carson, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NMFollow
Valeria Souza, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Hector Espinosa-Pérez, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Thomas F. Turner, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NMFollow

Abstract

The Cuatro Ciénegas killifish Lucania interioris is an endemic fundulid in the Chihuahuan Desert valley of Cuatro Ciénegas, Coahuila, México. It occurs in 3 major drainage regions of the basin and is limited primarily to naturally fragmented and physicochemically severe habitats of the valley floor. We assessed mitochondrial DNA variation and population genetic structure in L. interioris from 8 populations representative of the entire geographic range of this species, including its distribution within and among major drainage regions (western, central, and southeastern) of the valley. Five populations were invariant, including both populations in the western region (Haplotype A only), whereas 2 haplotypes were observed in each of the remaining populations. Haplotype diversity was low in the central basin (H_D = 0.10 and H_D = 0.19) and moderate in the southeastern basin (H_D = 0.52). Low levels of divergence among haplotypes (0.3%–0.9%), together with high levels of genetic differentiation among regions (F_CT = 0.847, P < 0.001), indicate complete isolation among major drainage regions. These results agree with previous documentation of morphological differentiation between populations from the western and central basins. Populations in the southeastern basin are divergent genetically and, therefore, also may exhibit morphological distinction.


El pez Lucania interioris del valle de Cuatro Ciénegas en Coahuila, México es endémico al valle. La specie ocurre en 3 cuencas principales dentro del valle donde está limitado a sistemas fragmentados y extremos fisicoquímicamente. Determinamos la diversidad mitocondrial y la estructura genética de 8 poblaciones muestreadas en todo el rango de distribución de la especie. Cinco poblaciones no presentaron diversidad genética, incluyendo ambos poblaciones del Oeste (solo Haplotipo A); 2 haplotipos mas fueron observados en las otras poblaciones. Entre las poblaciones geneticamente mas diversas, la diversidad fue mas baja en la parte central del valle (H_D = 0.10 y H_D = 0.19) y moderadamente diversa en la zona Sudeste (H_D = 0.52). A pesar de que la divergencia entre haplotipos es baja (0.3%–0.9%), la estructura genética es significativa entre regiones (F_CT = 0.847, P < 0.001) indicaron que el aislamiento entre las principales regiones de drenaje se ha completado, pero no antiguo. Estos resultados concuerdan con trabajos morfológicos previos donde se aprecian diferencias visibles entre las poblaciones del Oeste y parte Central del valle sugiriendo que la variación morfológica es mayor que lo que se había reportado.

Recommended Citation

Carson, Evan W.; Souza, Valeria; Espinosa-Pérez, Hector; and Turner, Thomas F. (2015) "Mitochondrial DNA diversity and phylogeography of Lucania interioris inform biodiversity conservation in the Cuatro Ciénegas Basin, México," Western North American Naturalist: Vol. 75: No. 2, Article 7.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/wnan/vol75/iss2/7