Abstract
The burnet moth Zygaena anthyllidis, endemic to the high elevations of the Pyrenees, is vulnerable to land-use. In order to identify conservation priorities based on an assessment of genetic diversity within populations and gene flow among populations, we examined Z. anthyllidis’ genetic variability and differentiation based on allozyme electrophoresis from seven populations scattered across its entire range. In comparison to other mountain Lepidoptera, the populations studied exhibit a low level of genetic diversity. Remarkable between-population differentiation (F ST = 0.053), the presence of private alleles, and the lack of significant isolation-by-distance pattern characterises the genetic make-up of the species. We interpreted the pattern of genetic differentiation as a consequence of low dispersal power in combination with insufficient landscape connectivity. Ongoing land-use change might reinforce genetic differentiation due to habitat fragmentation and additionally affect negatively allozyme variability at shifting range margins, i.e. the capacity to adapt to changing environments. We therefore suggest creating a network of suitable habitats at the landscape scale to facilitate genetic exchange and to conserve the species’ overall genetic variability.
References
Baguette M, van Dyck H (2007) Landscape connectivity and animal behavior: functional grain as a key determinant for dispersal. Landscape Ecol 22:1117–1129
Batllori E, Camarero JJ, Gutiérrez E (2010) Current regeneration patterns at the tree line in the Pyrenees indicate similar recruitment processes irrespective of the past disturbance regime. J Biogeogr 37:1938–1950
Castric V, Bonney F, Bernatchez L (2001) Landscape structure and hierarchial genetic diversity in the brook charr, Salvelinus fontinalis. Evolution 55:1016–1028
Cornuet JM, Luikart G (1996) Description and power analysis of two tests for detecting recent population bottlenecks from allele frequency data. Genetics 144:2001–2014
Dieker P, Drees C, Assmann T (2011) Two high mountain burnet moth species react differently to the global change drivers climate and land-use. Biol Conserv 144:2810–2818
Dirnböck T, Essel F, Rabitsch W (2011) Disproportional risk for habitat loss of high-altitude endemic species under climate change. Glob Change Biol 17:990–996
Excoffier L, Laval G, Schneider S (2005) Arlequin ver. 3.0: an integrated software package for population genetics data analysis. Evol Bioinform Online 1:47–50
Forister ML, McCall AC, Sanders NJ, Fordyce JA, Thorne JH, O’Brien J, Waetjen DP, Shapiro AM (2010) Compounded effects of climate change and habitat alteration shift patterns of butterfly diversity. PNAS 107:2088–2092
Frankham R (2003) Genetics and conservation biology. CR Biol 326:22–29
Gadeberg RME, Boomsma JJ (1997) Genetic population structure of the large blue butterfly Maculinea alcon in Denmark. J Insect Conserv 1:99–111
Gitzendanner MA, Soltis PS (2000) Patterns of genetic variation in rare and widespread plant congeners. Am J Bot 87:783–792
Habel JC, Rödder D, Schmitt T, Nève G (2011) Global warming will affect the genetic diversity and uniqueness of Lycaena helle populations. Glob Change Biol 17:194–205
Habel JC, Engler JO, Rödder D, Schmitt T (2012) Contrasting genetic and morphologic responses on recent population decline in two burnet moths (Lepidoptera, Zygaenidae). Conserv Genet 13:1293–1304
Haubrich K, Schmitt T (2007) Cryptic differentiation in alpine-endemic, high-altitude reveals down-slope glacial refugia. Mol Ecol 16:3643–3658
Hebert PDN, Beaton MJ (eds) (1993) Methodologies for allozyme analysis using cellulose acetate electrophoresis. Helena Laboratories, Beaumont
Hill JK, Hughes CL, Dytham C, Searle JB (2006) Genetic diversity in butterflies: interactive effects of habitat fragmentation and climate-driven range expansion. Biol Lett 2:152–154
Holzinger B, Hülber K, Camenisch M, Grabherr G (2008) Changes in plant species richness over the last century in the eastern Swiss Alps: elevational gradient, bedrock effects and migration rates. Plant Ecol 195:179–196
Hughes CL, Dytham C, HIll JK (2007) Modelling and analysing evolution of dispersal in populations at expanding range boundaries. Ecol Entomol 32:437–445
Keyghobadi N, Roland J, Strobeck C (2005) Genetic differentiation and gene flow among populations of the alpine butterfly, Parnassius smintheus, vary with landscape connectivity. Mol Ecol 14:1897–1909
Lenoir J, Gégout J-C, Guisan A, Vittoz P, Wohlgemuth T, Zimmermann NE, Dullinger S, Pauli H, Willner W, Jens-Christian S (2010) Going against the flow: potential mechanisms for unexpected downslope range shifts in a warming climate. Ecography 33:295–303
MacDonald D, Crabtree JR, Wiesinger G, Dax T, Stamou N, Fleury P, Gutierrez Lazpita J, Gibon A (2000) Agricultural abandonment in mountain areas of Europe: environmental consequences and policy response. J Environ Manag 59:47–69
Matter SF, Doyle A, Illerbrun K, Wheeler J, Roland J (2011) An assessment of direct and indirect effects of climate change for populations of the Rocky Mountain Apollo butterfly (Parnassius smintheus Doubleday). Insect Sci 18:385–392
Miller MP (2005) Alleles in space: computer software for the joint analysis of interindividual spatial and genetic information. J Hered 96:722–724
Porter AH, Shapiro AM (1989) Genetics and biogeography of the Oeneis chryxus complex (Satyrinae) in California. J Res Lepidoptera 28:263–276
Ronce O (2007) How does it feel to be like a rolling stone? Ten questions about dispersal evolution. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 38:231–253
Rosenzweig C, Karoly D, Vicarelli M, Neofotis P, Wu QG, Casassa G, Menzel A, Root TL, Estrella N, Seguin B, Tryjanowski P, Liu CZ, Rawlins S, Imeson A (2008) Attributing physical and biological impacts to anthropogenic climate change. Nature 453:353–357
Schmitt T, Besold J (2010) Upslope movements and large scale expansions: the taxonomy and biogeography of the Coenonympha arcania—C. darwiniana—C. gardetta butterfly species complex. Zool J Linn Soc 159:890–904
Schmitt T, Haubrich K (2008) The genetic structure of the mountain forest butterfly Erebia euryale unravels the late Pleistocene and postglacial history of the mountain coniferous forest biome in Europe. Mol Ecol 17:2194–2207
Schmitt T, Hewitt GM (2004) Molecular biogeography of the arctic-alpine disjunct burnet moth species Zygaena exulans (Zygaenidae, Lepidoptera) in the Pyrenees and Alps. J Biogeogr 31:885–893
Schmitt T, Cizek O, Konvicka M (2005) Genetics of a butterfly relocation: large, small and introduced populations of the mountain endemic Erebia epiphron silesiana. Biol Conserv 123:11–18
Schmitt T, Hewitt GM, Müller P (2006) Disjunct distributions during glacial and interglacial periods in mountain butterflies: Erebia epiphron as an example. J Evol Biol 19:108–113
R Development Core Team (2011) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. http://www.R-project.org, downloaded June 18, 2011
Van Loon EE, Cleary DFR, Fauvelot C (2007) ARES: software to compare allelic richness between uneven samples. Mol Ecol Notes 7:579–582
Walther G-R, Post E, Convey P, Menzel A, Parmesan C, Beebee TJC, Fromentin J-M, Hoegh-Guldberg O, Bairlein F (2002) Ecological responses to recent climate change. Nature 416:389–395
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to the respective authorities for the necessary permissions. PD was funded by the Scholarship Programme AFR of the National Research Fund (FNR), Luxembourg. Furthermore, we thank the National Museum of Natural History Luxembourg for financial support.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dieker, P., Drees, C., Schmitt, T. et al. Low genetic diversity of a high mountain burnet moth species in the Pyrenees. Conserv Genet 14, 231–236 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-012-0424-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-012-0424-0