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Conservation genetics of the central newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) in Iowa: the importance of a biogeographic framework

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Abstract

In light of global declines in amphibian populations, genetic data have become increasingly important for understanding population structure and for revealing hidden diversity. At the species level, Notophthalmus viridescens is an IUCN species of “least concern”, but the subspecies N. v. louisianensis (central newt) is listed as “threatened” in Iowa, a state on the western periphery of the species range. Genetic data were collected from 282 N. v. louisianensis from 14 sites in Iowa. Sequences from 1,054 nucleotides of mitochondrial DNA from Iowa newts revealed unexpected diversity in the form of two major haplotype groups that are not sister clades, with southern Iowa N. v. louisianensis being more closely related to N. v. piaropicola (peninsula newt) from Florida than to consubspecifics in Iowa. Sequence differentiation indicates that the two lineages of newts present in Iowa diverged near the beginning of the Pleistocene. Northern and southern Iowa haplotypes were found together at one site, indicating an opportunity for hybridization near Remington’s biogeographic suture zone 1, a hotspot for hybridization in other species. Three microsatellite loci provided additional evidence for distinctness of northern and southern Iowa newt populations. This study highlights the relevance of historical biogeography to conservation, as management strategies for N. v. louisianensis in Iowa must reflect previously unrecognized diversity in this species. Nuclear and mitochondrial data indicate genetic isolation of nearby populations on the same drainage, and field data suggest the decline of one study population, emphasizing the need for identification and protection of newt breeding sites in Iowa.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Jeffrey W. Tamplin for providing newt samples from West Virginia and Harlo Hadow for providing newt samples from Behren’s Pond. Neil Bernstein offered advice, equipment, and samples for the project. Terry Van De Walle and Jeff LeClere provided records of known newt populations. James W. Demastes advised specimen collection and provided critical review of this manuscript. Jonathan Eastman made many helpful suggestions for data analysis and presentation. We thank Laura Whitmore, Andrew Heise, and Esther Heise for help in the field. Lauren Dougall, Sheree Harper, Shantra Neuhring, and Kayla Peiffer assisted in the lab. We thank Matt Fisher (Nature Conservancy) and other landowners for access to their respective properties. We thank Andrew Storfer, Jason Baumsteiger, Mizuki Takahashi, and Jonathan Eastman for Noto1 and Noto2 primer sequences. Jack Kosmicki drew Fig. 1. Comments from two anonymous reviewers and the editor of this article improved the quality of this manuscript. This work was funded by a Wildlife Diversity Small Grant from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and by grants from the College of Natural Sciences and the Intercollegiate Academic Fund of University of Northern Iowa.

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  1. Department of Biology, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA, 50614-0421, USA

    S. Scott Whitmore, Selena Losee, Laurel Meyer & Theresa A. Spradling

  2. Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, 5315 SC, The University of Iowa, 103 South Capitol St, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA

    S. Scott Whitmore

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Correspondence to Theresa A. Spradling.

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Whitmore, S.S., Losee, S., Meyer, L. et al. Conservation genetics of the central newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) in Iowa: the importance of a biogeographic framework. Conserv Genet 14, 771–781 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-013-0472-0

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