Because of its importance as a pollinator and its potential economic usefulness for the biodegradation of organic animal waste, the genetic and phenotypic diversity of the drone fly, Eristalis tenax L. (Diptera: Syrphidae), was studied in both wild and captive populations from southeastern Europe. Wild specimens from a natural protected habitat (with low human impact), field crop habitat (semisynanthropic condition), and intensive pig farming habitat (synanthropic condition) were compared with a laboratory colony reared on artificial media An integrative approach was applied based on allozyme loci, cytochrome c oxidase I mitochondrial DNA, wing traits (size and shape), and abdominal color patterns. Our results indicate that the fourth and eighth generations of the laboratory colony show a severe lack of genetic diversity compared with natural populations. Reduced genetic diversity in subsequent generations (F4 and F8) of the laboratory colony was found to be linked with phenotypic divergence. Loss of genetic variability associated with phenotypic differentiation in laboratory samples suggests a founder effect, followed by stochastic genetic processes and inbreeding. Hence, our results have implications for captive bred Eristalis flies, which have been used in crop pollination and biodegradation of organic waste under synanthropic conditions.
Molecular and phenotypic diversities of Merodon albifrons (Diptera, Syrphidae) of the Aegean islands (Greece) were assessed and compared with the Aegean (Greece) island and island versus mainland sites (Volos, Greece; Alicante, Spain). The complementary use of molecular markers of nuclear and mitochondrial genomes and the study of phenotypic traits (wing size and shape) were found to be powerful tools for revealing hidden temporal (spring versus autumn generation) and spatial (Iberian versus Greek clade, within the Greek clade) diversity within M. albifrons. First, wing size and shape differences discriminated the Spanish M. albifrons clade from the Greek populations, implying the presence of an evolutionarily independent lineage. Wing measurements also revealed hidden temporal (spring versus autumn) phenotypic diversity. By contrast to the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I gene diversity observed in Lesvos (seven haplotypes), Naxos (three haplotypes), and Volos (five haplotypes), only one haplotype was registered in both spring and autumn generations from Chios. The observed allelic and genotypic uniqueness at nuclear allozyme loci indicates temporal (spring versus autumn) and spatial (within and between Chios and Lesvos islands) patterns of genetic diversity. By contrast to the genetic homogeneity found among samples from Chios Island, population structure was found to characterize Lesvos Island. Based on individual relatedness, spatial analysis across islands clustered particular populations of both generations from Lesvos compared to others, which is in agreement with the barriers identified by the software ALLELES IN SPACE.
A study of population connectivity of the migratory insect species, such as dronefly Eristalis tenax (Diptera, Syrphidae), has an essential importance in understanding the relative influence of the evolutionary forces and environmental features that interact in the spatial distribution of molecular and morphological diversity. However, specific study aiming to understand spatial genetic structure of dronefly populations and its migratory potential is lacking. Hence, we studied a spatial pattern of genetic and phenotypic variation of seven European populations of E. tenax incorporating landscape genetic methods using allozyme data, wing size and shape and abdominal colour pattern. Based on the observed lack of genotypic structuring, we suggested that there has been sufficient long‐distance gene flow to effectively homogenize population structuring at a broader geographical scale. Wing shape similarity among populations and an overlap of abdominal colour variation showed no clear clustering related to geography, which is in congruence with genetic data. However, genetic (FST values) and phenotypic (wing size) data and landscape genetics indicated subdivision between the Balkan populations (four Serbian samples) and populations from Central (Germany and Switzerland) and Northern (Finland) Europe. These findings indicated a potential connection between the Central and Northern Europe supporting the Central European origin of the flies caught in Finland. Thus, by performing spatial analysis and combining genetic–morphological approach, we shed light on the movement pattern in complex landscapes and thus provided the necessary guidelines to a broad‐scale analysis of this widespread generalist pollinator.
A study of the Merodon taxa on the Balkan Peninsula, a region with a number of Pleistocene refugia, provides a useful framework for examining evolutionary processes and detecting hidden biodiversity. The phenotypic diversity of 22 samples of the Merodon ruficornis group on the Balkan Peninsula was examined using landmark-based geometric morphometrics. The boundaries of the species M. ruficornis, M. trebevicensis, M. auripes, M. armipes, and M. Ioewi were well defined based on wing shape and size. Canonical variate analysis showed that wing shape possessed sufficient differences to discriminate the species with a successful classification rate of 75-92% for males and 82-100% for females. The observed interspecific differentiation is generally in agreement with a previous study of the M. ruficornis group using a traditional morphological approach and molecular markers (allozyme loci, COI mtDNA). The spatial variability between conspecific populations and interpopulation variation were assessed based on both wing shape and size for male specimens. Phenotypically divergent units were delineated within previously defined species of the M. ruficornis group, indicating the possible presence of evolutionary independent units within the taxa analysed.
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