Population structure of guppies in north-eastern Venezuela, the area of putative incipient speciation

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dc.contributor.authorHerdegen, Magdalena
dc.contributor.authorAlexander, Heather J
dc.contributor.authorBabik, Wiesław
dc.contributor.authorMavárez, Jesús
dc.contributor.authorBreden, Felix
dc.contributor.authorRadwan, Jacek
dc.date.accessioned2015-04-30T18:37:55Z
dc.date.available2015-04-30T18:37:55Z
dc.date.copyright2014en_US
dc.date.issued2014-02-17
dc.descriptionBioMed Centralen_US
dc.description.abstractBackground: Geographic barriers to gene flow and divergence among populations in sexual traits are two important causes of genetic isolation which may lead to speciation. Genetic isolation may be facilitated if these two mechanisms act synergistically. The guppy from the Cumaná region (within the Cariaco drainage) of eastern Venezuela has been previously described as a case of incipient speciation driven by sexual selection, significantly differentiated in sexual colouration and body shape from the common guppy, Poecilia reticulata. The latter occurs widely in northern Venezuela, including the south-eastern side of Cordillera de la Costa, where it inhabits streams belonging to the San Juan drainage. Here, we present molecular and morphological analyses of differentiation among guppy populations in the Cariaco and San Juan drainages. Our analyses are based on a 953 bp long mtDNA fragment, a set of 15 microsatellites (519 fish from 20 populations), and four phenotypic traits. Results: Both microsatellite and mtDNA data showed that guppies inhabiting the two drainages are characterised by a significant genetic differentiation, but a higher proportion of the genetic variance was distributed among populations within regions. Most guppies in the Cariaco drainage had mtDNA from a distinct lineage, but we also found evidence for widespread introgression of mtDNA from the San Juan drainage into the Cariaco drainage. Phenotypically, populations in the two regions differed significantly only in the number of black crescents. Phenotypic clustering did not support existence of two distinct groupings, but indicated a degree of distinctiveness of Central Cumaná (CC) population. However, CC population showed little differentiation at the neutral markers from the proximate populations within the Cariaco drainage. Conclusions: Our findings are consistent with only partial genetic isolation between the two geographic regions and indicate that the geographic barrier of Cordillera de la Costa has not played an important role in strengthening the incomplete pre-zygotic reproductive barrier between Cumaná and common guppy. Significant phenotypic differentiation between genetically similar (in terms of neutral variation) populations suggests that mate choice can maintain divergence at sexually selected traits despite gene flow. However, neither genetic nor phenotypic clustering supported delineation of two species within the region.en_US
dc.description.reviewstatusRevieweden_US
dc.description.scholarlevelFacultyen_US
dc.description.sponsorshipThis work was funded by Polish National Science Center (project number 2011/03/N/NZ8/00017) to MH. Sample collection was funded from Professor Subsidy 9 / 2008 to JR and by grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the National Geographic Society, and the Field Museum of Natural History to FB and HA.en_US
dc.identifier.citationHerdegen et al.: Population structure of guppies in north-eastern Venezuela, the area of putative incipient speciation. BMC Evolutionary Biology 2014 14:28en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/14/28
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-14-28
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1828/6074
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherBMC Evolutionary Biologyen_US
dc.rights.tempAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada*
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca/*
dc.subjectGene flowen_US
dc.subjectIntrogressionen_US
dc.subjectReproductive barriersen_US
dc.subjectSexual selectionen_US
dc.subjectmtDNAen_US
dc.subjectMicrosatellitesen_US
dc.titlePopulation structure of guppies in north-eastern Venezuela, the area of putative incipient speciationen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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