DNA Barcoding Survey of Anurans across the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia and the Impact of the Andes on Cryptic Diversity

Abstract

Colombia hosts the second highest amphibian species diversity on Earth, yet its fauna remains poorly studied, especially using molecular genetic techniques. We present the results of the first wide-scale DNA barcoding survey of anurans of Colombia, focusing on a transect across the Eastern Cordillera. We surveyed 10 sites between the Magdalena Valley to the west and the eastern foothills of the Eastern Cordillera, sequencing portions of the mitochondrial 16S ribosomal RNA and cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) genes for 235 individuals from 52 nominal species. We applied two barcode algorithms, Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery and Refined Single Linkage Analysis, to estimate the number of clusters or “unconfirmed candidate species” supported by DNA barcode data. Our survey included ~7% of the anuran species known from Colombia. While barcoding algorithms differed slightly in the number of clusters identified, between three and ten nominal species may be obscuring candidate species (in some cases, more than one cryptic species per nominal species). Our data suggest that the high elevations of the Eastern Cordillera and the low elevations of the Chicamocha canyon acted as geographic barriers in at least seven nominal species, promoting strong genetic divergences between populations associated with the Eastern Cordillera.

Gene flow and Andean uplift shape the diversification of Gasteracantha cancriformis (Araneae: Araneidae) in Northern South America

“…This contrasts with previous reports where the Brazilian Dry Diagonal has been found as a natural barrier to gene flow in taxa such as frogs, birds, and lizards (Fouquet, Santana Cassini, Fernando Baptista Haddad, Pech, & Trefaut Rodrigues, ; Harvey & Brumfield, ; Werneck, Gamble, Colli, Rodrigues, & Sites, ). The genetic homogeneity found within the wEC clade may also be explained by the topography of the Western and Central Colombian Cordilleras, which are considerably narrower than the Eastern one (Guarnizo et al., ), and which might have facilitated the dispersal of individuals across this region.…”

High Species Richness of Scinax Treefrogs (Hylidae) in a Threatened Amazonian Landscape Revealed by an Integrative Approach

“…Despite differences, in most cases, there was a convergence of both algorithms in delimitating Scinax candidate species from the study area. For the data set involving all putative units in the MCC tree, and using the candidate species proposed by [7, 66] as a reference (delimitated by using more than one molecular marker), ABGD showed greater accuracy in defining the candidate species when compared to GMYC, as this letter method tended to group two or more candidate species.…”

“…ruber [19], the strong variance in pairwise genetic distance between all OTUs in this clade plus S . ruber E (1% to 29%) suggests cryptic diversity [7, 66] [this study], as well as misidentification (perhaps for S . ruber E and S .…”

Niche shifts and range expansions along cordilleras drove diversification in a high‐elevation endemic plant genus in the tropical Andes

“…Either morphological stasis or convergence may have led to retaining the same morphological traits, highlighting that ‘cryptic’ speciation could be an overlooked phenomenon and that the actual plant diversity in the Andes may be underestimated, as is already documented, in amphibians, for example (Guarnizo et al . , ).…”