Effects of habitat fragmentation and differing mobility on the population structures of a Great Basin dragonfly (Sympetrum corruptum) and damselfly (Enallagma carunculatum)

Authors

Janice L. Simpkin, University of Nevada, Reno
Hugh B. Britten, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, South Dakota
Peter F. Brussard, University of Nevada, Reno

Abstract

The population structure of 2 Great Basin odonate species was assessed using protein electrophoresis. Analyses included 7 populations of Sympetrum corruptum (suborder Anisoptera), a migratory and highly mobile dragonfly, and 8 populations of Enallagma carunculatum (suborder Zygoptera), a weak flier that is not known to migrate far from natal water sources. Though we expected the damselfly (E. carunculatum) to show greater genetic isolation than the dragonfly (S. corruptum), both species apparently had high levels of gene flow (theta = 0.0604 for S. corruptum, theta = 0.0485 for E. carunculatum) and showed no evidence for isolation by distance. These results suggest that both species are highly vagile and that the most important factors affecting population structure of these odonates may be ecological conditions such as habitat patchiness and the ephemerality of water sources.

Recommended Citation

Simpkin, Janice L.; Britten, Hugh B.; and Brussard, Peter F. (2000) "Effects of habitat fragmentation and differing mobility on the population structures of a Great Basin dragonfly (Sympetrum corruptum) and damselfly (Enallagma carunculatum)," Western North American Naturalist: Vol. 60: No. 3, Article 9.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/wnan/vol60/iss3/9