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Genetic and morphological divergence at different spatiotemporal scales in the grasshopper Mioscirtus wagneri (Orthoptera: Acrididae)

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Abstract

The study of the association between morphological and genetic divergence can provide important information on the factors determining population differentiation and gene flow at different spatiotemporal scales. In this study we analyze the congruence between morphological and genetic divergence in the Iberian populations of Mioscirtus wagneri, a specialized grasshopper exclusively inhabiting highly fragmented hypersaline low grounds. We have found strong morphological variation among the studied localities and among mtDNA- and microsatellite-based genetic clusters. However, we have detected some cases of morphological convergence between highly differentiated populations. By contrast, certain genetically homogeneous populations at both mtDNA and microsatellite markers showed significant morphological differentiation which may be explained by phenotypic plasticity or divergent selection pressures acting at different spatiotemporal scales. Mantel tests also revealed that morphological divergence was associated with microsatellite- but not with mtDNA-based genetic distances. Overall, this study suggests that morphological traits can provide additional information on the underlying population genetic structure when only data on scarcely variable mtDNA markers is available. Thus, morphology can retain useful information on genetic structure and has the benefit over molecular methods of being inexpensive, offering a preliminary/complementary useful criterion for the establishment of management units necessary to guide conservation policies.

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Acknowledgements

Two anonymous referees provided useful discussion and valuable comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript. This work received financial support from the projects PCI08-0130 (JCCM), POII09-0198-8057 (JCCM), PEII11-0161-4455 (JCCM), and CGL2008-00095/BOS (MICINN). The study was funded by a post-doctoral JAE-Doc (CSIC) contract (to J.O.) and a research contract from the Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha/European Social Fund (to P.A.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), C/José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain

    Joaquín Ortego

  2. Grupo de Investigación de la Biodiversidad Genética y Cultural, Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos—IREC (CSIC, UCLM, JCCM), Ronda de Toledo s/n, 13005, Ciudad Real, Spain

    Maria Pilar Aguirre & Pedro J. Cordero

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  1. Joaquín Ortego
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  2. Maria Pilar Aguirre
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  3. Pedro J. Cordero
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Correspondence to Joaquín Ortego.

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Ortego, J., Aguirre, M.P. & Cordero, P.J. Genetic and morphological divergence at different spatiotemporal scales in the grasshopper Mioscirtus wagneri (Orthoptera: Acrididae). J Insect Conserv 16, 103–110 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-011-9397-4

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