Dataset Information

Population Genetic Structure and Demography of the Critically Endangered Chequered Blue Butterfly (Scolitantides orion) in a Highly Isolated Part of Its Distribution Range.

ABSTRACT: Scolitantides orion is a butterfly species threatened in many European countries. In Poland, it survived in a single highly isolated area (Vistula River valley), which is an example of the dramatic decline in the population number. We studied the two largest remaining populations inhabiting opposite banks of the river. Mark-release-recapture studies showed that both populations were small, and they fluctuated in numbers, but adult individuals were twice as numerous on the western site. Genetic analyses were carried out using a mitochondrial (COI, ND5) and nuclear markers (Wgl, EF-1?, and microsatellite loci). We found out that genetic variation was low at both sites but higher in the smaller eastern population. This pattern is likely to be better explained by past distribution, when the butterfly, as a continental species used to be much more widespread in the east. However, the genetic differentiation between populations was low. This could suggest that the existing gene flow is facilitated by dominant regional wind direction, which may also contribute to a better genetic condition of the western population. Finally, a comparison of the obtained COI sequences with others available enabled us to reveal the phylogeographic pattern of the S. orion from different localities within its range.

SUBMITTER: Czajkowska M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7564389 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Population Genetic Structure and Demography of the Critically Endangered Chequered Blue Butterfly (<i>Scolitantides orion</i>) in a Highly Isolated Part of Its Distribution Range.

Czajkowska Magdalena M Dawidowicz Łukasz Ł Borkowska Anetta A Dziekańska Izabela I Sielezniew Marcin M

Insects 20200908 9

<i>Scolitantides orion</i> is a butterfly species threatened in many European countries. In Poland, it survived in a single highly isolated area (Vistula River valley), which is an example of the dramatic decline in the population number. We studied the two largest remaining populations inhabiting opposite banks of the river. Mark-release-recapture studies showed that both populations were small, and they fluctuated in numbers, but adult individuals were twice as numerous on the western site. Ge ...[more]

PMID: 32911638

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Project description:The blue skate (Dipturus batis) has a patchy distribution across the North-East Atlantic Ocean, largely restricted to occidental seas around the British Isles following fisheries-induced population declines and extirpations. The viability of remnant populations remains uncertain and could be impacted by continued fishing and by-catch pressure, and the projected impacts of climate change. We genotyped 503 samples of D. batis, obtained opportunistically from the widest available geographic range, across 6 350 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) using a reduced-representation sequencing approach. Genotypes were used to assess the species' contemporary population structure, estimate effective population sizes and identify putative signals of selection in relation to environmental variables using a seascape genomics approach. We identified genetic discontinuities between inshore (British Isles) and offshore (Rockall and Faroe Island) populations, with differentiation most pronounced across the deep waters of the Rockall Trough. Effective population sizes were largest in the Celtic Sea and Rockall, but low enough to be of potential conservation concern among Scottish and Faroese sites. Among the 21 candidate SNPs under positive selection was one significantly correlated with environmental variables predicted to be affected by climate change, including bottom temperature, salinity and pH. The paucity of well-annotated elasmobranch genomes precluded us from identifying a putative function for this SNP. Nevertheless, our findings suggest that climate change could inflict a strong selective force upon remnant populations of D. batis, further constraining its already-restricted habitat. Furthermore, the results provide fundamental insights on the distribution, behaviour and evolutionary biology of D. batis in the North-East Atlantic that will be useful for the establishment of conservation actions for this and other critically endangered elasmobranchs.

Dataset Information

Population Genetic Structure and Demography of the Critically Endangered Chequered Blue Butterfly (Scolitantides orion) in a Highly Isolated Part of Its Distribution Range.

Publications

Population Genetic Structure and Demography of the Critically Endangered Chequered Blue Butterfly (<i>Scolitantides orion</i>) in a Highly Isolated Part of Its Distribution Range.

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