Meeting Abstract

62.4  Saturday, Jan. 5  Speciation patterns in Patagonia: insights from Aegla freshwater crabs PEREZ-LOSADA, Marcos*; XU, Jiawu; JARA, Carlos; CRANDALL, Keith A; Brigham Young University; Brigham Young University; Universidad Austral de Chile; Brigham Young University mp323@byu.edu

The role of historical events such as glacial cycles, mountain building, and river captures on the speciation and demographic histories of Patagonian (southern South America) species is not well known. This intellectual void restricts our understanding of the processes responsible for generating biological diversity in temperate South America and limits current conservation efforts. Here we present the evolutionary histories of A. alacalufi and A. neuquensis freshwater crabs from Chile and Argentina, respectively. Crab samples collected from both glaciated and non-glaciated continental areas and Chilean islands were sequenced for three mtDNA gene regions (16S, COI and COII). Phylogenetic and population analyses revealed several episodes of isolation and species differentiation and recent colonization associated with glacial cycles. Phylogeographic patterns, however, differed between species, suggesting that geological and climatic events played a different role on Aegla speciation at both sides of the Andes Cordillera.