Abstract
Butler’s Gartersnakes (BGS; Thamnophis butleri) are confined to open and semi-open canopy wetlands and adjacent uplands, habitats under threat of development in Wisconsin. To address issues of species identity and putative hybridization with congeneric snakes, a suite of 18 microsatellite loci capable of cross-species amplification of Plains Gartersnakes (T. radix) and Common Gartersnakes (T. sirtalis) was developed. All loci were polymorphic in BGS with mean number of alleles per locus of 16.11 (range = 3–41) and mean observed heterozygosity of 0.659 (range = 0.311–0.978). Loci amplified efficiently in the congeneric species with high levels of intra- and inter-specific variation. These loci will aid ongoing efforts to effectively identify and manage BGS in Wisconsin.
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References
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Acknowledgments
Use of trade names throughout manuscript does not constitute endorsement by the U.S. Government. We thank the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources-Bureau of Endangered Resources for funding, and R. Franckowiak, L. Westbrook, R. Andvik, and M. Waterhouse for laboratory assistance. We also acknowledge the contributions of H. Nelson, H. Kaarakka, E. Pelton, B. Poole, A. Drayton, K. McGinley, A. Murphy, B. Jagla, E. Hileman, J. Dare, M. Lundberg, D. Kitchen, R. Henderson, R. King, T. VanDeWalle, D. Mifsud, and J. LeClere.
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Sloss, B.L., Schuurman, G.W., Paloski, R.A. et al. Novel microsatellite loci for studies of Thamnophis Gartersnake genetic identity and hybridization. Conservation Genet Resour 4, 383–386 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12686-011-9555-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12686-011-9555-8