Reconstructing eight decades of genetic variation in an isolated Danish population of the large blue butterfly Maculinea arion

Ugelvig LV, Nielsen P, Boomsma J, Nash D. 2011. Reconstructing eight decades of genetic variation in an isolated Danish population of the large blue butterfly Maculinea arion. BMC Evolutionary Biology. 11(201), 201.

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Journal Article | Published | English

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Author
Ugelvig, Line VISTA ; Nielsen, Per; Boomsma, Jacobus; Nash, David

Corresponding author has ISTA affiliation

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Abstract
Background: Fragmentation of terrestrial ecosystems has had detrimental effects on metapopulations of habitat specialists. Maculinea butterflies have been particularly affected because of their specialized lifecycles, requiring both specific food-plants and host-ants. However, the interaction between dispersal, effective population size, and long-term genetic erosion of these endangered butterflies remains unknown. Using non-destructive sampling, we investigated the genetic diversity of the last extant population of M. arion in Denmark, which experienced critically low numbers in the 1980s. Results: Using nine microsatellite markers, we show that the population is genetically impoverished compared to nearby populations in Sweden, but less so than monitoring programs suggested. Ten additional short repeat microsatellites were used to reconstruct changes in genetic diversity and population structure over the last 77 years from museum specimens. We also tested amplification efficiency in such historical samples as a function of repeat length and sample age. Low population numbers in the 1980s did not affect genetic diversity, but considerable turnover of alleles has characterized this population throughout the time-span of our analysis. Conclusions: Our results suggest that M. arion is less sensitive to genetic erosion via population bottlenecks than previously thought, and that managing clusters of high quality habitat may be key for long-term conservation.
Publishing Year
Date Published
2011-07-11
Journal Title
BMC Evolutionary Biology
Publisher
BioMed Central
Volume
11
Issue
201
Article Number
201
IST-REx-ID

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Ugelvig LV, Nielsen P, Boomsma J, Nash D. Reconstructing eight decades of genetic variation in an isolated Danish population of the large blue butterfly Maculinea arion. BMC Evolutionary Biology. 2011;11(201). doi:10.1186/1471-2148-11-201
Ugelvig, L. V., Nielsen, P., Boomsma, J., & Nash, D. (2011). Reconstructing eight decades of genetic variation in an isolated Danish population of the large blue butterfly Maculinea arion. BMC Evolutionary Biology. BioMed Central. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-11-201
Ugelvig, Line V, Per Nielsen, Jacobus Boomsma, and David Nash. “Reconstructing Eight Decades of Genetic Variation in an Isolated Danish Population of the Large Blue Butterfly Maculinea Arion.” BMC Evolutionary Biology. BioMed Central, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-11-201.
L. V. Ugelvig, P. Nielsen, J. Boomsma, and D. Nash, “Reconstructing eight decades of genetic variation in an isolated Danish population of the large blue butterfly Maculinea arion,” BMC Evolutionary Biology, vol. 11, no. 201. BioMed Central, 2011.
Ugelvig LV, Nielsen P, Boomsma J, Nash D. 2011. Reconstructing eight decades of genetic variation in an isolated Danish population of the large blue butterfly Maculinea arion. BMC Evolutionary Biology. 11(201), 201.
Ugelvig, Line V., et al. “Reconstructing Eight Decades of Genetic Variation in an Isolated Danish Population of the Large Blue Butterfly Maculinea Arion.” BMC Evolutionary Biology, vol. 11, no. 201, 201, BioMed Central, 2011, doi:10.1186/1471-2148-11-201.
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2018-12-12
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