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Evolutionary, molecular and comparative zoology
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 53(3)

Population genetic structure of the western spotted frog, Heleioporus albopunctatus (Anura : Myobatrachidae), in a fragmented landscape in south-western Australia

Robert A. Davis A B and J. Dale Roberts A
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- Author Affiliations

A School of Animal Biology M092, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.

B Corresponding author. Email: rob@graduate.uwa.edu.au

Australian Journal of Zoology 53(3) 167-175 https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO04021
Submitted: 15 March 2004  Accepted: 26 April 2005   Published: 16 June 2005

Abstract

We report on the genetic structuring of populations of a large burrowing frog, Heleioporus albopunctatus, from the central wheatbelt of Western Australia. This region has been highly fragmented by vegetation clearance for agriculture since the early 1900s. Genetic variation at four variable loci in 22 populations was analysed using cellulose acetate electrophoresis. Analysis across all populations showed a moderate, but significant, degree of subdivision (Fst = 0.087 ± 0.049, P < 0.05) and high levels of heterozygosity (H = 0.133, s.e. = 0.084). Several small populations had higher Fst values in pair-wise comparisons. A mantel test revealed no significant relationship between genetic distance and geographic distance (r = –0.136, P = 0.34) and this, combined with data from multidimensional scaling analyses, suggests that geographic isolation of populations is not a significant determinant of genetic structuring. Despite this, the presence of high levels of subdivision as a result of the erosion of genetic diversity indicates that regional persistence may be dependent on the maintenance of metapopulation structures that allow gene flow.


Acknowledgments

This research was carried out under fauna licences NE002947 and SF003756 issued by the West Australian Department of Conservation and Land Management. The University of Western Australia Animal Ethics Committee granted approval under licence 99/008/E92. Funding for this research was provided by a postgraduate research grant from the University of Western Australia, the Butler Trust Fund (Museum of Western Australia), the Australian Geographical Society and The Peter Rankin Trust Fund for Herpetology. Trapping permits were provided by the Department of Conservation and Land Management. We thank T. Finston, M. Johnson, M. Stuckey and A. Whitehead for their assistance with genetic analyses and techniques. W. Bancroft kindly assisted with figure and table preparation.


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