Taxonomic Uncertainty and the Anomaly Zone: Phylogenomics Disentangle a Rapid Radiation to Resolve Contentious Species (Gila robusta Complex) in the Colorado River.

ABSTRACT: Species are indisputable units for biodiversity conservation, yet their delimitation is fraught with both conceptual and methodological difficulties. A classic example is the taxonomic controversy surrounding the Gila robusta complex in the lower Colorado River of southwestern North America. Nominal species designations were originally defined according to weakly diagnostic morphological differences, but these conflicted with subsequent genetic analyses. Given this ambiguity, the complex was re-defined as a single polytypic unit, with the proposed "threatened" status under the U.S. Endangered Species Act of two elements being withdrawn. Here we re-evaluated the status of the complex by utilizing dense spatial and genomic sampling (n = 387 and >22 k loci), coupled with SNP-based coalescent

SUBMITTER: Chafin TK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8449829 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature