A molecular phylogenetic analysis of Speyeria and its implications for the management of the threatened Speyeria zerene hippolyta

作者：McHugh Anne; Bierzychudek Paulette^*; Greever Christina; Marzulla Tessa; Van Buskirk Richard; Binford Greta

来源：Journal of Insect Conservation, 2013, 17(6): 1237-1253.

DOI：10.1007/s10841-013-9605-5

• ESU
• Evolutionarily significant unit
• Lepidoptera
• Oregon silverspot butterfly
• Species delineation
• Wolbachia

The genetic structure of lineages can provide important information for delineating %26quot;evolutionarily significant units%26quot; (ESUs) for conservation, and for planning actions to protect and restore taxa threatened with extinction. Speyeria zerene hippolyta, the Oregon silverspot butterfly, is a U.S.A. federally threatened subspecies that is the focus of considerable conservation effort, but whose evolutionary relationships with other Speyeria taxa are not well-understood. We conducted a genetic analysis of nine Speyeria species and 25 subspecies from western U.S.A., using both mitochondrial and nuclear markers. Our goal was to determine whether such data supported (a) S. z. hippolyta%26apos;s designation as an ESU, and (b) the current morphologically-based taxonomy of Speyeria spp. Our data for S. z. hippolyta were equivocal; while nuclear markers resolved all these individuals into a single clade, mtDNA data suggested the existence of two clades. Aside from S. cybele, which was consistently supported as monophyletic, our data provided little support for most of the species currently recognized for western U.S. Speyeria, including S. zerene, and even less for the many subspecies designations. These genetic findings stand in contrast to the morphological differences recognized by experts, and suggest a relatively recent origin for many of these taxa. Two of 66 individuals screened for Wolbachia infection tested positive for this symbiont. Our results provide no persuasive evidence that S. z. hippolyta should lose its status as an ESU, but they have important implications for ongoing management actions such as population augmentation.

• 出版日期2013-12