Population dynamics in newts of the Carpathian Mountains

Abstract

Antunes et al. (2022) present a detailed comparative landscape genetics analysis of the Carpathian Newt (Lissotriton montandoni) and the Smooth Newt (L. vulgaris; Figure 1). These close relatives are codistributed in the Carpathian Mountain Range, which includes some of the last remaining primary forests in Europe. A peculiar geographical distribution is exhibited by these species whereby the rangerestricted species, L. montandoni, is fully enclosed within the broad range of L. vulgaris, which extends from Western Europe to Western Siberia. The physiological tolerances and ecological preferences of the species restrict L. montandoni to higher elevations in closed forests or forest edges, while L. vulgaris has much broader tolerances and lower sensitivity to disturbed landscapes. It is against this ecological backdrop that the study explores how species with distinct habitat preferences respond to landscape changes.Using existing genomic resources from targeted SNP sequencing, the authors combine populations genetics (e.g. F ST , IBD and N e ) and land-cover information from satellite data to estimate genetic diversity, identify key landscape features that promote or diminish connectivity, and characterize differential responses of these species to land-cover variables at local scales. The specific populations selected for the study are scattered along a zone of secondary contact, where each has been functioning with little to no interspecific gene flow (Zieliński et al., 2019), allowing for a rare yet important replicated sampling design. Fine-scale landscape genetic analyses of these newts reinforces their differences, but also sheds light on regional sensitivities that may have been obscured in a range-wide analysis.