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Moisture variables, and not temperature, are responsible for climate filtering and genetic bottlenecks in the South African endemic terrestrial mollusc Prestonella (Orthalicoidea)

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Abstract

Non-vagile taxa such as terrestrial molluscs are susceptible to stochastic environmental events that can cause local extinctions or population declines, and extinctions of terrestrial mollusc species are among the highest documented. Many terrestrial snails are habitat specialists, and genetic studies using both allozyme and DNA sequence data have indicated that many species contain substantial and geographically structured genetic variation. In this study, we assess the genetic variation within two species of the rare terrestrial snail genus Prestonella, an inhabitant of rocky areas along water courses in the southern Great Escarpment of South Africa, and correlate genetic diversity to climatic variables. DNA sequence data from mitochondrial 16S rDNA and partial cytochrome oxidase I genes indicate that neither species is monophyletic, and that populations are deeply divergent, even over distances of a few hundred metres. Principal components anaylsis of climatic variables derived from two databases indicates that genetic diversity of the populations is correlated to moisture-related climatic variables. Populations with little or no diversity occur in more arid regions, and are thus most at risk from any future climatic changes that would increase aridification. These moisture variables are thus potent drivers of genetic bottlenecks and may have resulted in historical climate filtering or limitation of the distribution of these species. Temperature appears to be a less important variable, a finding supported by physiological data based on heart rates that show that death occurs only at temperatures far higher than found in their environment.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Kevin Cole, Linda Davis, Ralph Clark, John Midgley, Garreth Keevey Stef Kriel, Phillip Foulkes and especially Mary Cole who collected from a number of sites including the Fort Fordyce Reserve (under Eastern Cape parks permit number RA 0063). Christopher McQuaid and Tshifhiwa Given Matumba are thanked for allowing access to, and providing training in, the use of the equipment to measure heart rates, and Sarah Radloff for assistance with statistical matters. The South African National Parks gave us permission to collect in Mountain Zebra National Park and the Karoo National Park, and provided logistical support. Funding for this research was provided by the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Grant Unique Number GUN 2069059 (NPB) and 61261 (DGH)) in the form of a bursary to JLF and running Grant funding to NPB. In addition, funding from the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) is gratefully acknowledged. We thank two reviewers for their constructive comments.

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  1. Great Escarpment Biodiversity Programme, Department of Botany, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa

    Nigel P. Barker & Janine L. Fearon

  2. KwaZulu-Natal Museum, P. Bag 9070, Pietermaritzburg, 3200, South Africa

    David G. Herbert

  3. School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 3206, South Africa

    David G. Herbert

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Correspondence to Nigel P. Barker.

Glossary

Haplotype

A particular DNA sequence from a specific region (in this instance of the mitochondrial genome) found in one or more individuals

Haplotype diversity

A measure of the uniqueness of a particular haplotype in a given population and is a function of its frequency

Nucleotide diversity

The degree of polymorphism within a population assessed as the number of nucleotide (base pair) differences between two haplotypes divided by the number of nucleotides under comparison

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Barker, N.P., Fearon, J.L. & Herbert, D.G. Moisture variables, and not temperature, are responsible for climate filtering and genetic bottlenecks in the South African endemic terrestrial mollusc Prestonella (Orthalicoidea). Conserv Genet 14, 1065–1081 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-013-0496-5

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