Meeting Abstract

P2.201  Saturday, Jan. 5  Examining Mitochondrial Genetic Diversity in a Population of Eastern Hognose Snakes in Cape Cod, MA PARELLI, S*; DOLCEMASCOLO, P; MONSEN, K; Montclair State University; Montclair State University; Montclair State University sparelli@gmail.com

The Eastern Hognose snake (Heterodon platirhinos) is a relatively poorly studied species found in the eastern half of the United States from southern New England and Ontario south along the Atlantic coast to Florida and west to Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota. In the Northeastern part of their range they are considered to be a species of regional conservation concern by the Northeast Endangered Species and Wildlife Diversity Technical Committee, and are protected by conservation measures in the states of Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, and are listed as endangered by the state of New Hampshire. The purpose of this study was to examine the genetic diversity of a population of H. platirhinos in Cape Cod National Seashore, Barnstable, MA in order to determine whether this population was being impacted by habitat fragmentation. Tissue samples were collected from snakes in conjunction with a radio telemetry study which covered three major towns in Cape Cod and approximately 120 sq km of the northernmost part of the peninsula. We obtained DNA from a total of twenty-three snakes and compared partial sequences of the mitochondrial control region. All sequences were joined in a statistical parsimony network using TCS 1.21 with a 95% confidence connection limit. Five unique haplotypes were distinguished which differed by no more than three base pairs, and there was no correlation between geographic location and haplotype occurrence. These results suggest that this population in Cape Cod may not experience any barriers to gene flow or that barriers may have been recently established. To our knowledge, this is the first genetic analysis of the Eastern Hognose snake.