TY - THES A1 - Sammler, Svenja A1 - Ketmaier, Valerio A1 - Havenstein, Katja A1 - Krause, Ulrike A1 - Curio, Eberhard A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Mitochondrial control region I and microsatellite analyses of endangered Philippine hornbill species (Aves; Bucerotidae) detect gene flow between island populations and genetic diversity loss Y1 - 2012 UR - http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2148-12-203.pdf U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-12-203 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ketmaier, Valerio A1 - Marrone, Federico A1 - Alfonso, Giuseppe A1 - Paulus, Kirsten B. A1 - Wiemann, Annika A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Mura, Graziella T1 - Mitochondrial DNA regionalism and historical demography in the extant populations of chirocephalus kerkyrensis (Branchiopoda: Anostraca) JF - PLoS one N2 - Background: Mediterranean temporary water bodies are important reservoirs of biodiversity and host a unique assemblage of diapausing aquatic invertebrates. These environments are currently vanishing because of increasing human pressure. Chirocephalus kerkyrensis is a fairy shrimp typical of temporary water bodies in Mediterranean plain forests and has undergone a substantial decline in number of populations in recent years due to habitat loss. We assessed patterns of genetic connectivity and phylogeographic history in the seven extant populations of the species from Albania, Corfu Is. (Greece), Southern and Central Italy. Methodology/Principal Findings: We analyzed sequence variation at two mitochondrial DNA genes (Cytochrome Oxidase I and 16s rRNA) in all the known populations of C. kerkyrensis. We used multiple phylogenetic, phylogeographic and coalescence-based approaches to assess connectivity and historical demography across the whole distribution range of the species. C. kerkyrensis is genetically subdivided into three main mitochondrial lineages; two of them are geographically localized (Corfu Is. and Central Italy) and one encompasses a wide geographic area (Albania and Southern Italy). Most of the detected genetic variation (approximate to 81%) is apportioned among the aforementioned lineages. Conclusions/Significance: Multiple analyses of mismatch distributions consistently supported both past demographic and spatial expansions with the former predating the latter; demographic expansions were consistently placed during interglacial warm phases of the Pleistocene while spatial expansions were restricted to cold periods. Coalescence methods revealed a scenario of past isolation with low levels of gene flow in line with what is already known for other co-distributed fairy shrimps and suggest drift as the prevailing force in promoting local divergence. We recommend that these evolutionary trajectories should be taken in proper consideration in any effort aimed at protecting Mediterranean temporary water bodies. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0030082 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 7 IS - 2 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Silva-Iturriza, Adriana A1 - Ketmaier, Valerio A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Profound population structure in the Philippine Bulbul Hypsipetes philippinus (Pycnonotidae, Ayes) is not reflected in its Haemoproteus haemosporidian parasite JF - Infection, genetics and evolution : journal of molecular epidemiology and evolutionary genetics and infectious diseases (MEEGID) N2 - In this study we used molecular markers to screen for the occurrence and prevalence of the three most common haemosporidian genera (Haemoproteus, Plasmodium, and Leucocytozoon) in blood samples of the Philippine Bulbul (Hypsipetes philippinus), a thrush-size passerine bird endemic to the Philippine Archipelago. We then used molecular data to ask whether the phylogeographic patterns in this insular host-parasite system might follow similar evolutionary trajectories or not. We took advantage of a previous study describing the pattern of genetic structuring in the Philippine Bulbul across the Central Philippine Archipelago (6 islands, 7 populations and 58 individuals; three mitochondrial DNA genes). The very same birds were here screened for the occurrence of parasites by species-specific PCR assays of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene (471 base pairs). Twenty-eight out of the 58 analysed birds had Haemoproteus (48%) infections while just 2% of the birds were infected with either Leucocytozoon or Plasmodium. Sixteen of the 28 birds carrying Haemoproteus had multiple infections. The phylogeography of the Philippine Bulbul mostly reflects the geographical origin of samples and it is consistent with the occurrence of two different subspecies on (1) Semirara and (2) Carabao, Boracay, North Gigante, Panay, and Negros, respectively. Haemoproteus phylogeography shows very little geographical structure, suggesting extensive gene flow among locations. While movements of birds among islands seem very sporadic, we found co-occurring evolutionary divergent parasite lineages. We conclude that historical processes have played a major role in shaping the host phylogeography, while they have left no signature in that of the parasites. Here ongoing population processes, possibly multiple reinvasions mediated by other hosts, are predominant. KW - Haemoproteus KW - Hypsipetes philippinus KW - Comparative phylogeography KW - mtDNA Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meegid.2011.10.024 SN - 1567-1348 VL - 12 IS - 1 SP - 127 EP - 136 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nahavandi, Nahid A1 - Ketmaier, Valerio A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Intron structure of the elongation factor 1-alpha gene in the ponto-caspian amphipod pontogammarus maeoticus (Sowinsky, 1894) and its phylogeographic utility JF - Journal of crustacean biology N2 - We tested the utility of a 230 base pair intron fragment of the highly conserved nuclear gene Elongation Factor 1-alpha (EF1-alpha) as a proper marker to reconstruct the phylogeography of the marine amphipod Pontogammarus maeoticus (Sowinsky, 1894) from the Caspian and Black Seas. As a prerequisite for further analysis, we confirmed by Southern blot analysis that EF1-alpha is encoded at a single locus in P. maeoticus. We included 15 populations and 60 individuals in the study. Both the phylogeny of the 27 unique alleles found and population genetic analyses revealed a significant differentiation between populations from the aforementioned sea basins. Our results are in remarkable agreement with recent studies on a variety of species from the same area, which invariably support a major phylogeographic break between the Caspian and Black Seas. We thus conclude that our EF1-alpha intron is an informative marker for phylogeographic studies in amphipods at the shallow population level. KW - Amphipoda KW - Elongation Factor 1-alpha KW - phylogeography KW - Ponto-Caspian region KW - Pontogammarus maeoticus Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1163/193724012X626584 SN - 0278-0372 VL - 32 IS - 3 SP - 425 EP - 433 PB - Brill CY - San Antonio ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sammler, Svenja A1 - Ketmaier, Valerio A1 - Havenstein, Katja A1 - Krause, Ulrike A1 - Curio, Eberhard A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Mitochondrial control region I and microsatellite analyses of endangered Philippine hornbill species (Aves; Bucerotidae) detect gene flow between island populations and genetic diversity loss JF - BMC evolutionary biology N2 - Background: The Visayan Tarictic Hornbill (Penelopides panini) and the Walden's Hornbill (Aceros waldeni) are two threatened hornbill species endemic to the western islands of the Visayas that constitute - between Luzon and Mindanao - the central island group of the Philippine archipelago. In order to evaluate their genetic diversity and to support efforts towards their conservation, we analyzed genetic variation in similar to 600 base pairs (bp) of the mitochondrial control region I and at 12-19 nuclear microsatellite loci. The sampling covered extant populations, still occurring only on two islands (P. panini: Panay and Negros, A. waldeni: only Panay), and it was augmented with museum specimens of extinct populations from neighboring islands. For comparison, their less endangered (= more abundant) sister taxa, the Luzon Tarictic Hornbill (P. manillae) from the Luzon and Polillo Islands and the Writhed Hornbill (A. leucocephalus) from Mindanao Island, were also included in the study. We reconstructed the population history of the two Penelopides species and assessed the genetic population structure of the remaining wild populations in all four species. Results: Mitochondrial and nuclear data concordantly show a clear genetic separation according to the island of origin in both Penelopides species, but also unravel sporadic over-water movements between islands. We found evidence that deforestation in the last century influenced these migratory events. Both classes of markers and the comparison to museum specimens reveal a genetic diversity loss in both Visayan hornbill species, P. panini and A. waldeni, as compared to their more abundant relatives. This might have been caused by local extinction of genetically differentiated populations together with the dramatic decline in the abundance of the extant populations. Conclusions: We demonstrated a loss in genetic diversity of P. panini and A. waldeni as compared to their sister taxa P. manillae and A. leucocephalus. Because of the low potential for gene flow and population exchange across islands, saving of the remaining birds of almost extinct local populations - be it in the wild or in captivity - is particularly important to preserve the species' genetic potential. KW - Biogeography KW - Bucerotidae KW - Conservation genetics KW - Genetic diversity loss KW - Microsatellites KW - Mitochondrial control region I KW - Philippine archipelago KW - Phylogeography Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-12-203 SN - 1471-2148 VL - 12 IS - 25 PB - BioMed Central CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pavesi, Laura A1 - Deidun, Alan A1 - De Matthaeis, Elvira A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Ketmaier, Valerio T1 - Mitochondrial DNA and microsatellites reveal significant divergence in the beachflea Orchestia montagui (Talitridae: Amphipoda) JF - Aquatic sciences : research across boundaries N2 - Talitrids are semiterrestrial crustacean amphipods inhabiting sandy and rocky beaches; they generally show limited active dispersal over long distances. In this study we assessed levels of population genetic structure and variability in the talitrid amphipod Orchestia montagui, a species strictly associated to stranded decaying heaps of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica. The study is based on six populations (153 individuals) and covers five basins of the Mediterranean Sea (Tyrrhenian, Ionian, Adriatic, Western and Eastern basins). Samples were screened for polymorphisms at a fragment of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) coding for the cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene (COI; 571 base pairs) and at eight microsatellite loci. MtDNA revealed a relatively homogeneous haplogroup, which clustered together the populations from the Western, Tyrrhenian and Eastern basins, but not the populations from the Adriatic and Ionian ones; microsatellites detected two clusters, one including the Adriatic and Ionian populations, the second grouping all the others. We found a weak geographic pattern in the genetic structuring of the species, with a lack of isolation by distance at either class of markers. Results are discussed in terms of probability of passive dispersal over long distances through heaps of seagrass. KW - Orchestia montagui KW - mtDNA KW - Microsatellites KW - Mediterranean Sea KW - Spatial genetic variation Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-012-0250-y SN - 1015-1621 VL - 74 IS - 3 SP - 587 EP - 596 PB - Springer CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wildish, J. A1 - Pavesi, Laura A1 - Ketmaier, Valerio T1 - Talitrid amphipods (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Talitridae) and the driftwood ecological niche a morphological and molecular study JF - Journal of natural history : an international journal of systematics, interactive biology and biodiversity. - London : Taylor & Francis   1.1967 - N2 - Coastal regions of the North East Atlantic and Mediterranean Seas have four known species of driftwood talitrids. Records are extremely scanty, often limited to the type locality and dating to 1950. We were able to study three of them, all belonging to the genus Macarorchestia, using fresh and archived samples including type material. Allometric and molecular analyses support: (1) a close relationship among all the three classically defined Macarorchestia species, (2) Macarorchestia was well separated from non-driftwood taxa, and (3) a putative new driftwood talitrid discovered during this study was not closely related to Macarorchestia. Genetic divergence between the new species and Macarorchestia remyi is as high as the average distance among a number of talitrid species included in the study for comparison. A key is provided to identify all three of the presently known species of Macarorchestia, using morphological characters employed in the allometric study. KW - Macarorchestia remyi KW - Macarorchestia roffensis KW - Macarorchestia martini KW - Driftwood habitat KW - COI-DNA barcoding KW - allometry Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2012.717971 SN - 0022-2933 VL - 46 IS - 43-44 SP - 2677 EP - 2700 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER -