Strong Population Structure and Differentiation within and among Burrowing Bog Crayfish Species of Southern Alabama Wetlands

Clay, Mallary; Brannock, Pamela M.; Barbour, Michael T.; Feminella, Jack W.; Santos, Scott R.; Helms, Brian S.

doi:10.1007/s13157-020-01273-w

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…Strong genetic structure on a narrow geographic range has been observed in other crayfish populations of European Astacus astacus [ 50 , 61 ] and Australian Euastacus bispinosus [ 62 ] and Euastacus armatus [ 63 ]. This observation is expected for species with low vagility and limited dispersal capacity, such as crayfish [ 64 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Genomic insights into the conservation status of the Idle Crayfish Austropotamobius bihariensis Pârvulescu, 2019: low genetic diversity in the endemic crayfish species of the Apuseni Mountains

Bonassin,

Pârvulescu,

Boštjančić

et al. 2024

BMC Ecol Evo

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Background Biodiversity in freshwater ecosystems is declining due to an increased anthropogenic footprint. Freshwater crayfish are keystone species in freshwater ecosystems and play a crucial role in shaping the structure and function of their habitats. The Idle Crayfish Austropotamobius bihariensis is a native European species with a narrow distribution range, endemic to the Apuseni Mountains (Romania). Although its area is small, the populations are anthropogenically fragmented. In this context, the assessment of its conservation status is timely. Results Using a reduced representation sequencing approach, we identified 4875 genomic SNPs from individuals belonging to 13 populations across the species distribution range. Subsequent population genomic analyses highlighted low heterozygosity levels, low number of private alleles and small effective population size. Our structuring analyses revealed that the genomic similarity of the populations is conserved within the river basins. Conclusion Genomic SNPs represented excellent tools to gain insights into intraspecific genomic diversity and population structure of the Idle Crayfish. Our study highlighted that the analysed populations are at risk due to their limited genetic diversity, which makes them extremely vulnerable to environmental alterations. Thus, our results emphasize the need for conservation measures and can be used as a baseline to establish species management programs.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Genomic insights into the conservation status of the Idle Crayfish Austropotamobius bihariensis Pârvulescu, 2019: low genetic diversity in the endemic crayfish species of the Apuseni Mountains

Bonassin,

Pârvulescu,

Boštjančić

et al. 2024

BMC Ecol Evo

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“…Nonetheless, DNA barcoding assessments in these families relies on the continued generation of geo‐referenced COI sequence data tied to accessible voucher specimens. This highlights the importance of recent taxonomic updates (e.g., Loughman & Williams, 2021 ; Perkins et al., 2023 ; Thoma et al., 2023 ), investigations into the taxonomic status of crayfishes (e.g., Amador et al., 2021 ; Bláha et al., 2023 ; Hildreth et al., 2023 ), and population genetics studies (e.g., Clay et al., 2020 ; Hurt et al., 2022 ) from the Astacology community.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

DNA barcoding is currently unreliable for species identification in most crayfishes

Allison,

Pickich,

Barnett

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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DNA barcoding is commonly used for species identification. Despite this, there has not been a comprehensive assessment of the utility of DNA barcoding in crayfishes (Decapoda: Astacidea). Here we examined the extent to which local barcoding gaps (used for species identification) and global barcoding gaps (used for species discovery) exist among crayfishes, and whether global gaps met a previously suggested 10× threshold (mean interspecific difference being 10× larger than mean intra specific difference). We examined barcoding gaps using publicly available mitochondrial COI sequence data from the National Center for Biotechnology Information's nucleotide database. We created two versions of the COI datasets used for downstream analyses: one focused on the number of unique haplotypes (NH) per species, and another that focused on total number of sequences (NS; i.e., including redundant haplotypes) per species. A total of 81 species were included, with 58 species and five genera from the family Cambaridae and 23 species from three genera from the family Parastacidae. Local barcoding gaps were present in only 30 species (20 Cambaridae and 10 Parastacidae species). We detected global barcoding gaps in only four genera (Cambarus, Cherax, Euastacus, and Tenuibranchiurus), which were all below (4.2× to 5.2×) the previously suggested 10× threshold. We propose that a ~5× threshold would be a more appropriate working hypothesis for species discovery. While the NH and NS datasets yielded largely similar results, there were some discrepant inferences. To understand why some species lacked a local barcoding gap, we performed species delimitation analyses for each genus using the NH dataset. These results suggest that current taxonomy in crayfishes may be inadequate for the majority of examined species, and that even species with local barcoding gaps present may be in need of taxonomic revisions. Currently, the utility of DNA barcoding for species identification and discovery in crayfish is quite limited, and caution should be exercised when mitochondrial‐based approaches are used in place of taxonomic expertise. Assessment of the evidence for local and global barcoding gaps is important for understanding the reliability of molecular species identification and discovery, but outcomes are dependent on the current state of taxonomy. As this improves (e.g., via resolving species complexes, possibly elevating some subspecies to the species‐level status, and redressing specimen misidentifications in natural history and other collections), so too will the utility of DNA barcoding.

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“…These pine savannas and their associated embedded ecosystems, such as pitcher plant (Sarracenia spp.) bogs, wetlands, and prairies, were historically one of North America's most species-rich ecosystems and remain global biodiversity hotspots [3][4][5]. Longleaf pine stands host diverse faunal communities that evolved in, and often depend upon, habitats with relatively open canopies and low tree basal areas [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Longleaf pine stands host diverse faunal communities that evolved in, and often depend upon, habitats with relatively open canopies and low tree basal areas [6]. The fauna include charismatic endangered species such as the red-cockaded woodpecker (Dryobates borealis) and gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus), as well as many less-familiar species, including burrowing crayfishes (Cambaridae) [5]. Longleaf pine ecosystems are critically endangered [7], with less than 4% of their pre-historic distribution remaining [1,4]; however, remnants of these ecosystems, and other open pine savannas and prairies in the southeastern US, still harbor diverse communities [3,7,8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Burrow Densities of Primary Burrowing Crayfishes in Relation to Prescribed Fire and Mechanical Vegetation Treatments

Adams

Hereford

Hyseni

2021

Water

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Fire suppression and other factors have drastically reduced wet prairie and pine savanna ecosystems on the Coastal Plain of the southeastern United States. Restoration of these open-canopy environments often targets one or several charismatic species, and semi-aquatic species such as burrowing crayfishes are often overlooked in these essentially terrestrial environments. We examined the relationship between primary burrowing crayfishes and three vegetation treatments implemented over at least the past two decades in the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge. Vegetation in the 12 study sites had been frequently burned, frequently mechanically treated, or infrequently managed. Creaserinus spp., primarily C. oryktes, dominated the crayfish assemblage in every site. We counted crayfish burrow openings and coarsely categorized vegetation characteristics in 90, 0.56-m2 quadrats evenly distributed among six transects per site. The number of active burrow openings was negatively, exponentially related to both the percent cover of woody vegetation and the maximum height of woody vegetation in quadrats, and to the number of trees taller than 1.2 m per transect, indicating that woody plant encroachment was detrimental to the crayfishes. Results were consistent with several other studies from the eastern US, indicating that some primary burrowing crayfishes are habitat specialists adapted to open-canopy ecosystems.

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Strong Population Structure and Differentiation within and among Burrowing Bog Crayfish Species of Southern Alabama Wetlands

Cited by 6 publications

References 70 publications

Genomic insights into the conservation status of the Idle Crayfish Austropotamobius bihariensis Pârvulescu, 2019: low genetic diversity in the endemic crayfish species of the Apuseni Mountains

Genomic insights into the conservation status of the Idle Crayfish Austropotamobius bihariensis Pârvulescu, 2019: low genetic diversity in the endemic crayfish species of the Apuseni Mountains

DNA barcoding is currently unreliable for species identification in most crayfishes

Burrow Densities of Primary Burrowing Crayfishes in Relation to Prescribed Fire and Mechanical Vegetation Treatments

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