Meeting Abstract

P2.6  Friday, Jan. 4  A striking lack of genetic diversity across a wide ranging amphibian, Gastrophryne carolinensis MAKOWSKY, R.*; RISSLER, L. J.; University of Alabama; University of Alabama makowsky@uta.edu

We examine the phylogeographic structure of a wide-ranging microhylid frog (Gastrophryne carolinensis) using both mitochondrial (mtDNA) and nuclear (AFLP) data. Species with similar ecological and demographic characteristics such as large range size, low vagility, or existence across known biogeographic barriers often are comprised of multiple, cryptic lineages. Surprisingly, our analyses of both portions of the genome show very little phylogeographic or population genetic structure. The family Microhylidae is one of the largest families of anurans with over 60 genera and around 400 species distributed across much of the world (Americas, Asia, Africa, and Madagascar), but very few phylogenetic studies have assessed intraspecific genetic diversity across the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes. Our analyses revealed little geographic structure using either phylogenetic of population genetic approaches. These results suggest that G. carolinensis has experienced a severe population bottleneck with subsequent range expansion. Comparable molecular data from closely related microhylids, in addition to demographic and ecological analyses, will provide valuable insight into patterns of genetic diversity and the processes driving phylogenetic diversity in these wide-ranging frogs.