Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Short pond hydroperiod decreases fitness of nonnative hybrid salamanders in C alifornia

Short pond hydroperiod decreases fitness of nonnative hybrid salamanders in C alifornia Human‐facilitated introductions of nonnative taxa have changed species' geographic ranges and increased the prevalence of secondary contact and the potential for hybridization, with a host of effects on ecological systems. Land managers increasingly face these complex situations, tasked with developing strategies to preserve biodiversity in the face of such changes. We conducted a management‐relevant experiment to inform the development of strategies for management of wild populations. We examined the fitness consequences of genetic admixture in a hybrid swarm between native California tiger salamanders and nonnative barred tiger salamanders. Variation in hydroperiod within the hybrid zone has previously been observed to affect landscape patterns of genetic introgression, with modified permanent ponds harboring salamanders with a greater proportion of nonnative genes. Our study experimentally examines the relationship between hydroperiod and fitness of three classes of salamanders: native, nonnative and hybrid. Using experimental pond mesocosms, we implemented three pond drying regimes and recorded survival and secondary determinants of salamander fitness. Our results indicate native‐genotype advantages in rapidly drying mesocosms relative to other genetic classes. Furthermore, our results indicate that management of aquatic habitat to minimize the success of hybrid individuals may be a viable strategy to reduce the spread of nonnative genotypes. Overall, our approach demonstrates how controlled experiments can be designed to provide meaningful information for the development of real‐world conservation strategies. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Animal Conservation Wiley

Short pond hydroperiod decreases fitness of nonnative hybrid salamanders in C alifornia

Download PDF
10 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/wiley/short-pond-hydroperiod-decreases-fitness-of-nonnative-hybrid-4iHDIWPqb4

References (37)

Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
Animal Conservation © 2013 The Zoological Society of London
ISSN
1367-9430
eISSN
1469-1795
DOI
10.1111/acv.12029
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Human‐facilitated introductions of nonnative taxa have changed species' geographic ranges and increased the prevalence of secondary contact and the potential for hybridization, with a host of effects on ecological systems. Land managers increasingly face these complex situations, tasked with developing strategies to preserve biodiversity in the face of such changes. We conducted a management‐relevant experiment to inform the development of strategies for management of wild populations. We examined the fitness consequences of genetic admixture in a hybrid swarm between native California tiger salamanders and nonnative barred tiger salamanders. Variation in hydroperiod within the hybrid zone has previously been observed to affect landscape patterns of genetic introgression, with modified permanent ponds harboring salamanders with a greater proportion of nonnative genes. Our study experimentally examines the relationship between hydroperiod and fitness of three classes of salamanders: native, nonnative and hybrid. Using experimental pond mesocosms, we implemented three pond drying regimes and recorded survival and secondary determinants of salamander fitness. Our results indicate native‐genotype advantages in rapidly drying mesocosms relative to other genetic classes. Furthermore, our results indicate that management of aquatic habitat to minimize the success of hybrid individuals may be a viable strategy to reduce the spread of nonnative genotypes. Overall, our approach demonstrates how controlled experiments can be designed to provide meaningful information for the development of real‐world conservation strategies.

Journal

Animal Conservation – Wiley

Published: Oct 1, 2013

There are no references for this article.