Identification of Widespread Hybridization between Two Terrestrial Salamanders Using Morphology, Coloration, and Molecular Markers

Lehtinen, Richard M.; Steratore, Anthony F.; Eyre, Meredith M.; Cassagnol, Emlyne S.; Stern, Mitchell L.; Edgington, Hilary A.

doi:10.1643/ch-14-205

Cited by 14 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…High number of intermediate-sized individuals may also indicate hybridisation (Benedict 1999;Gligor et al 2009;Lehtinen et al 2016), and in our study, the individuals of sympatric populations were located closer to the 'intermediate zone' of the morphometric space (Fig. 4).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 61%

Intra- and interspecific morphological variation in sympatric and allopatric populations of Mustela putorius and M. eversmanii (Carnivora: Mustelidae) and detection of potential hybrids

et al. 2020

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European mustelids include the European polecat, Mustela putorius, and the steppe polecat, M. eversmanii. Both occur sympatrically in the Pannonian Basin, where M. eversmanii hungarica represents the westernmost part of the latter species and they allegedly hybridize. We investigated the morphological relationships in sympatric and allopatric populations of these mustelids with representative sampling, taxonomic and geographic coverage. We evaluated inter- and intraspecific patterns of morphological differentiation of 20 cranial measurements and four external traits by distance-based morphometric approaches and multivariate analyses. Our results revealed a considerable heterogeneity in cranial morphology. The two species appeared to be clearly differentiated although sympatric populations were closer to each other and had a slight overlap in the morphometric space. Within M. eversmanii, the subspecies and the nominal taxon only partially overlapped, and M. eversmanii eversmanii was more distant from M. putorius than subspecies hungarica. Although morphometric analyses revealed several intermediate individuals in size in sympatric M. eversmanii and M. putorius populations, only a small fraction of such specimens showed conflict in discrete morphological characters with the diagnostic discriminant function. We interpret these results as an indication of ongoing hybridisation between sympatric populations, but the low number of hybrids identified suggests limited genetic exchange between the species.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 61%

Intra- and interspecific morphological variation in sympatric and allopatric populations of Mustela putorius and M. eversmanii (Carnivora: Mustelidae) and detection of potential hybrids

et al. 2020

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“…Range shifts due to climate change can lead to increased hybridization and the potential for genetic swamping of range‐restricted species (Muhlfeld et al., 2014; Walls, 2009). Although hybridization regularly occurs within clades of the woodland salamander genus Plethodon (Highton, 1995; Lehtinen et al., 2016; Weisrock, Kozak, & Larson, 2005), in this study we found little, if any, evidence for hybridization between a mountaintop endemic species ( P. hubrichti ) and its widespread congener ( P. cinereus ). Based on multilocus genotypes for eight microsatellites, all individual salamanders could be assigned to species with a probability > .8, and in each case these assignments matched our initial classification based on morphological features (e.g., coloration of the venter and coloration of the dorsal stripe).…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 68%

Genetic variation in Plethodon cinereus and Plethodon hubrichti from in and around a contact zone

Page

Conarroe

Quintanilla

et al. 2020

Ecology and Evolution

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Climate change poses several challenges to biological communities including changes in the frequency of encounters between closely related congeners as a result of range shifts. When climate change leads to increased hybridization, hybrid dysfunction or genetic swamping may increase extinction risk—particularly in range‐restricted species with low vagility. The Peaks of Otter Salamander, Plethodon hubrichti, is a fully terrestrial woodland salamander that is restricted to ~18 km of ridgeline in the mountains of southwestern Virginia, and its range is surrounded by the abundant and widespread Eastern Red‐backed Salamander, Plethodon cinereus. In order to determine whether these two species are hybridizing and how their range limits may be shifting, we assessed variation at eight microsatellite loci and a 1,008 bp region of Cytochrome B in both species at allopatric reference sites and within a contact zone. Our results show that hybridization between P. hubrichti and P. cinereus either does not occur or is very rare. However, we find that diversity and differentiation are substantially higher in the mountaintop endemic P. hubrichti than in the widespread P. cinereus, despite similar movement ability for the two species as assessed by a homing experiment. Furthermore, estimation of divergence times between reference and contact zone populations via approximate Bayesian computation is consistent with the idea that P. cinereus has expanded into the range of P. hubrichti. Given the apparent recent colonization of the contact zone by P. cinereus, future monitoring of P. cinereus range limits should be a priority for the management of P. hubrichti populations.

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“…). There is also evidence of extensive hybridization between P. cinereus and P. electromorphus in Ohio (Lehtinen et al, 2016). Phylogenetically, P. electromorphus belongs to the cinereus clade and last shared a common ancestor with P. cinereus roughly 10 million years ago (Wiens et al, 2006).…”

Section: (B) Systematics and Geographic Variationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eastern red-backed salamanders: A comprehensive review of an undervalued model in evolution, ecology, & behavior

Fisher‐Reid¹,

Grayson²,

Grouleff³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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What makes a model organism? Identifying the qualities of a model organism has been given a great deal of attention in the biomolecular sciences, but less so in the fields of evolution, ecology, and behavior (EEB). In EEB, biotic and abiotic variation are features to understand, not bugs to get rid of, and EEB scientists often select organisms to study which best suit the scientific question at hand. Successful EEB model organisms can be studied at multiple biological scales and have a wealth of accumulated knowledge on which current research programs build. A recent call within EEB to invest in the inclusive development of diverse model systems and scientists has led us to evaluate the standing of the widespread, abundant, terrestrial salamander we study, the eastern red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus). We first look at salamanders as EEB models more generally, to determine where P. cinereus fits in this broader context. We next present a comprehensive review of the literature on the eastern red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus) since the last comprehensive review was completed in 1998. The core of our paper reviews 410 recent studies and highlights inconsistencies, gaps in our knowledge, and future directions in the context of the 1998 review. Finally, we present a collaborative research network, SPARCnet, as a nascent infrastructure for continued research on P. cinereus. Here, we especially discuss how this type of infrastructure can be broadly applied not just to other salamanders, but to other model systems, so that the future of EEB research may benefit from models which accurately represent, in Darwin’s words, “endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful.”

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Identification of Widespread Hybridization between Two Terrestrial Salamanders Using Morphology, Coloration, and Molecular Markers

Cited by 14 publications

References 30 publications

Intra- and interspecific morphological variation in sympatric and allopatric populations of Mustela putorius and M. eversmanii (Carnivora: Mustelidae) and detection of potential hybrids

Intra- and interspecific morphological variation in sympatric and allopatric populations of Mustela putorius and M. eversmanii (Carnivora: Mustelidae) and detection of potential hybrids

Genetic variation in Plethodon cinereus and Plethodon hubrichti from in and around a contact zone

Eastern red-backed salamanders: A comprehensive review of an undervalued model in evolution, ecology, & behavior

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