The ranges and abundances of species that depend on freshwater habitats are declining worldwide. Efforts to counteract those trends are often hampered by a lack of information about species distribution and conservation status and are often strongly biased toward a few well-studied groups. We identified the 3,906 vascular plants, macroinvertebrates, and vertebrates native to California, USA, that depend on fresh water for at least one stage of their life history. We evaluated the conservation status for these taxa using existing government and non-governmental organization assessments (e.g., endangered species act, NatureServe), created a spatial database of locality observations or distribution information from ~400 data sources, and mapped patterns of richness, endemism, and vulnerability. Although nearly half of all taxa with conservation status (n = 1,939) are vulnerable to extinction, only 114 (6%) of those vulnerable taxa have a legal mandate for protection in the form of formal inclusion on a state or federal endangered species list. Endemic taxa are at greater risk than non-endemics, with 90% of the 927 endemic taxa vulnerable to extinction. Records with spatial data were available for a total of 2,276 species (61%). The patterns of species richness differ depending on the taxonomic group analyzed, but are similar across taxonomic level. No particular taxonomic group represents an umbrella for all species, but hotspots of high richness for listed species cover 40% of the hotspots for all other species and 58% of the hotspots for vulnerable freshwater species. By mapping freshwater species hotspots we show locations that represent the top priority for conservation action in the state. This study identifies opportunities to fill gaps in the evaluation of conservation status for freshwater taxa in California, to address the lack of occurrence information for nearly 40% of freshwater taxa and nearly 40% of watersheds in the state, and to implement adequate protections for freshwater taxa where they are currently lacking.
Comparative population genetic studies provide a powerful means for assessing the degree to which evolutionary histories may be congruent among taxa while also highlighting the potential for cryptic diversity within existing species. In the Rocky Mountains, three confamilial stoneflies (Zapada glacier, Lednia tumana, and Lednia tetonica; Plecoptera, Nemouridae) occupy cold alpine streams that are primarily fed by melting ice. Lednia tumana and L. tetonica are sister species diagnosed from systematic morphological differences, and they are endemic to areas surrounding Glacier National Park and Grand Teton National Park, respectively, in the U.S. Rocky Mountains. Zapada glacier is also present in alpine streams from Glacier National Park to the Teton Range, sometimes co‐occurring with either Lednia species. We used mitochondrial sequence data to clarify species boundaries, compare population genetic patterns, and test demographic models in a coalescent framework for the three stoneflies. We addressed four questions: (1) Is there genetic support for the morphology‐based species boundaries in Lednia? (2) Is there genetic support for cryptic, or as‐yet undescribed, diversity within Z. glacier? (3) Do similar geographic distributions and ecological requirements yield spatial congruence of genetic structure between high‐elevation Lednia and Z. glacier populations? (4) Is there evidence for contemporary gene flow among isolated populations in either group? Our results supported the existing taxonomy with Z. glacier and the two Lednia species differing in their depths of divergence among study regions (e.g. maximum sequence divergence within Z. glacier = 1.2% versus 5% between L. tumana and L. tetonica). However, spatial population genetic patterns were broadly congruent, indicating stonefly populations isolated on mountaintop islands. Coalescent modelling supported the possibility of rare, extremely limited contemporary gene flow among Z. glacier populations, with no support for gene flow between L. tumana and L. tetonica. The focal stoneflies and associated assemblages occupy the highest elevation, coldest permanent alpine streams in the study region. This lotic habitat type faces an uncertain future under a diminishing alpine cryosphere. Given spatial congruence of genetic structure demonstrating unique biodiversity associated with individual alpine islands, we encourage conservation management strategies be developed and applied at corresponding spatial scales.
The radular muscles of several littorinid species, including Littorina littorea, L. saxatilis, L. obtusata, L. striata and Melarhaphe neritoides, contain myoglobin (Mb). Here we report on the presence of radular Mb in eight other littorinids: L. compressa, L. arcana, L. fabalis, Nodilittorina punctata, N. trochoides, N. radiata, Littoraria undulata and Littoraria cingulifera. Using native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and isoelectric focusing (IEF) we compared the Mb and soluble protein (SP) profiles of these species. This suggested that: (1) L. saxatilis and L. arcana may have specific Mb/SP profiles, (2) Littoraria spp., Nodilittorina spp. and L. striata share similar Mb patterns, (3) Mb is remarkably diverse in the genus Littorina, (4) L. littorea shows intraspecific Mb/SP variation, (5) L. saxatilis does not show geographic Mb/SP differences, and (6) IEF uncovers substantial hidden Mb/SP heterogeneity not shown by PAGE (particularly for Melarhaphe neritoides). Hence, littorinid Mb/SP may be a useful taxonomic marker whose ecophysiological significance deserves further study, even if its genetic basis remains unclear.
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