Population genetics of Blanding's turtle (Emys blandingii) in the midwestern United States

Arun Sethuraman; Suzanne E. McGaugh; Morgan L. Becker; Christopher H. Chandler; James L. Christiansen; Sue Hayden; Andrea LeClere; Jennifer Monson-Miller; Erin M. Myers; Ryan T. Paitz; Jeanine M. Refsnider; Terry J. VanDeWalle; Fredric J. Janzen

doi:10.1007/s10592-013-0521-8

Population genetics of Blanding's turtle (Emys blandingii) in the midwestern United States

Arun Sethuraman, Suzanne E. McGaugh, Morgan L. Becker, Christopher H. Chandler, James L. Christiansen, Sue Hayden, Andrea LeClere, Jennifer Monson-Miller, Erin M. Myers, Ryan T. Paitz, Jeanine M. Refsnider, Terry J. VanDeWalle, Fredric J. Janzen

Ecology, Evolution and Behavior

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

16 Scopus citations

Abstract

Blanding's turtle (Emys blandingii) has declined substantially in North America due to anthropogenic activities, leaving populations smaller and increasingly fragmented spatially. We sampled 212 turtles to evaluate variation at eight microsatellite loci within and among 18 populations of E. blandingii across its primary range in the midwestern United States (Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska). All loci and populations were highly polymorphic. Our analyses also detected considerable genetic structure within and among the sampled localities, and revealed ancestral gene flow of E. blandingii in this region north and east from an ancient refugium in the central Great Plains, concordant with post-glacial recolonization timescales. The data further implied unexpected 'links' between geographically disparate populations in Nebraska and Illinois. Our study encourages conservation decisions to be mindful of the genetic uniqueness of populations of E. blandingii across its primary range.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	61-73
Number of pages	13
Journal	Conservation Genetics
Volume	15
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-013-0521-8
State	Published - Feb 2014

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Acknowledgments Thanks to Steve Dinkelacker, Robb Goldsberry, Chris Phillips, and Sara Ruane for assistance with collecting and to two anonymous reviewers for constructive criticisms. Turtles and tissues for this project were obtained under Iowa DNR Scientific Collecting permits to JLC and TJV, Illinois Endangered Species permits to FJJ and SH, Minnesota DNR permits to JMR, and a Nebraska Game & Parks Commission permit to Steve Dinkelacker. Funding for this research was provided in part by a contract from the McHenry County Conservation Foundation and National Science Foundation grants IBN-0080194, DEB-0089680, and DEB-0640932 to FJJ, and by a National Aeronautics and Space Administration Iowa Space Grant Consortium grant to FJJ and JLC. Additional funding for sequencing and bioinformatics support was provided by National Science Foundation DEB-0508665 to FJJ and EMM, as well as a grant from the EEOB Department at ISU and a James Cornette Fellowship to AS.

Keywords

Gene flow
North American phylogeography
Population genetics
Turtles

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Sethuraman, A., McGaugh, S. E., Becker, M. L., Chandler, C. H., Christiansen, J. L., Hayden, S., LeClere, A., Monson-Miller, J., Myers, E. M., Paitz, R. T., Refsnider, J. M., VanDeWalle, T. J., & Janzen, F. J. (2014). Population genetics of Blanding's turtle (Emys blandingii) in the midwestern United States. Conservation Genetics, 15(1), 61-73. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-013-0521-8

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Population genetics of Blanding's turtle (Emys blandingii) in the midwestern United States

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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