Meeting Abstract
Over 75% of freshwater snails in the U.S. and Canada are considered imperiled. Yet, freshwater snails are critically understudied, particularly those in the family Pleuroceridae. Found in North America, at least 70% of the 162 currently recognized pleurocerid species are at risk of extinction. Furthermore, population genetics of pleurocerids are almost completely unknown, limiting our understanding of pleurocerid biology and hindering management efforts. Here, we examined population genomics of Leptoxis ampla, a federally listed snail endemic to the Cahaba River drainage in Alabama. We sampled eight populations from across the range of L. ampla and used a 2bRAD-seq approach to target 2,000 loci and assess population connectivity, estimate genetic diversity, and test predictions of expected genetic diversity in headwaters versus main stem reaches. Despite short geographical distances between sampled populations (i.e., <10 km), we identified a surprising lack of connectivity among populations. This suggests that population augmentation through translocation or captive propagation could be problematic, as natural genetic profiles would likely be disrupted. Our study should be a cautionary tale of the potential problems associated with designing management plans, particularly those focused on population augmentations, without considering population genetics of target species.
