Abstract
Determining cryptic species and diversity in at-risk species is necessary for the understanding and conservation of biodiversity. The endangered Banff Springs Snail, Physella johnsoni, inhabits seven highly specialized thermal springs in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. However, it has been difficult to reconcile its species status to the much more common Physella gyrina using ecology, morphology and genetics. Here we used pooled whole-genome sequencing to characterize genomic variation and structure among five populations of P. johnsoni and three geographical proximate P. gyrina populations. By comparing over two million single nucleotide polymorphisms, we detected substantial genetic distance (pairwise FST of 0.27 to 0.44) between P. johnsoni and P. gyrina, indicative of unique gene pools. Genetic clusters among populations were found for both species, with up to 10% for P. johnsoni and 30% for P. gyrina of genetic variation being explained by population structure. P. johnsoni was found to have lower genetic diversity compared to P. gyrina, however, no patterns of were observed between genetic diversity and population minimums. Our results confirm that designation of P. johnsoni as an endangered species is warranted and that both P. johnsoni and P. gyrina exhibit microgeographic population genomic structure suggestive of rapid local adaptation and/or genetic drift within environments. This study showcases the utility of genomics to resolve patterns of cryptic species and diversity for effective conservation management. Future studies on the functional genomic diversity of P. johnsoni populations are needed to test for the possible role of selection within this thermal spring environment.
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Data availability
Detailed bioinformatic pipeline can be found on Protocols.io at: https://doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.e6nvwk372vmk/v1. Sequencing reads in fastq format can be found on NCBI Sequence Read Archive at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/971154 (BioProject ID PRJNA971154).
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank J Bokvist and J Harrison for their invaluable assistance in the field and lab. The analyses presented here were made possible due to helpful discussions and guidance from J Bull, D Clake, S Dennenmoser, P Gordon, J Harrison, and especially T Barry. While this research occurred after the November 2013 death of C Pacas, Aquatics Specialist, Banff National Park and Chair of the recovery team, he was instrumental in laying the groundwork for its initiation and was a true champion of aquatic conservation. This work was funded by Parks Canada, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) PGS-D held by BCMS, and an NSERC Discovery Grant held by SMR. We would like to respectfully acknowledge that this research occurred on the traditional territories of the Siksikaitsitapi - Blackfoot Confederacy (comprising of the Siksika, Peigan-Piikani, Aamskapi Pikuni, and Kainai First Nations); the Iyarhe (Stoney) Nakoda First Nation (including the Chiniki, Bearspaw, and Goodstoney First Nations); the Tsuut’ina First Nation, the Métis Nation of Alberta; and the Ktunaxa First Nations.
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Research conceptualization- all authors. Fieldwork - BCMS and DAWL. Laboratory work and bioinformatic analyses - BCMS. Original manuscript draft - BCMS and SMR. Manuscript edits and review - all authors.
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Stanford, B.C., Lepitzki, D.A., Taylor, M.K. et al. Pooled whole genome sequencing of the endangered Banff Springs Snail, Physella johnsoni, reveals genetic separation to P. gyrina and cryptic micro-geographical genetic structure. Conserv Genet 24, 783–791 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-023-01538-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-023-01538-x