title: Phylogeography of the endangered Lesser Antillean iguana, Iguana delicatissima: a recent diaspora in an archipelago known for ancient herpetological endemism.
abstract: Iguana delicatissima is an endangered endemic of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. Phylogeographic analyses for many terrestrial vertebrate species in the Caribbean, particularly lizards, suggest ancient divergence times. Often, the closest relatives of species are found on the same island, indicating that colonization rates are so low that speciation on islands is often more likely to generate biodiversity than subsequent colonization events. Mitochondrial sequence analysis of the region spanning ND4 was performed on I. delicatissima individuals from islands across the species' range to estimate genetic divergence among geographically isolated populations. Five unique haplotypes were recovered from 46 individuals. The majority of animals carry a single common haplotype. Two of the haplotypes were only present in individuals classified as hybrids from Îles des Saintes. The final 2 haplotypes, single nucleotide substitutions, were present in animals from Îlet Chancel of Martinique and Saint Barthélemy, respectively. Despite the great distances between islands and habitat heterogeneity within islands, this species is characterized by low haplotype diversity. The low mtDNA variation of I. delicatissima suggests a single colonization coupled with rapid range expansion, potentially hastened by human-mediated dispersal.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Biological Sciences, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762 (Martin and Welch); the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, Escondido, CA 92027 (Knapp and Gerber); and the School of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, UK (Thorpe). Charles R. Knapp is now at Daniel P. Haerter Center for Conservation and Research, John G. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, IL 60605. jlm1108@msstate.edu.
authors.forename: Jessica L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Biological Sciences, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762 (Martin and Welch); the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, Escondido, CA 92027 (Knapp and Gerber); and the School of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, UK (Thorpe). Charles R. Knapp is now at Daniel P. Haerter Center for Conservation and Research, John G. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, IL 60605.
authors.forename: Charles R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Knapp
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Biological Sciences, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762 (Martin and Welch); the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, Escondido, CA 92027 (Knapp and Gerber); and the School of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, UK (Thorpe). Charles R. Knapp is now at Daniel P. Haerter Center for Conservation and Research, John G. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, IL 60605.
authors.forename: Glenn P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Gerber
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Biological Sciences, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762 (Martin and Welch); the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, Escondido, CA 92027 (Knapp and Gerber); and the School of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, UK (Thorpe). Charles R. Knapp is now at Daniel P. Haerter Center for Conservation and Research, John G. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, IL 60605.
authors.forename: Roger S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Thorpe
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Biological Sciences, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762 (Martin and Welch); the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, Escondido, CA 92027 (Knapp and Gerber); and the School of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, UK (Thorpe). Charles R. Knapp is now at Daniel P. Haerter Center for Conservation and Research, John G. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, IL 60605.
authors.forename: Mark E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Welch
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017691:Caribbean Region; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D056727:Endangered Species; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D006239:Haplotypes; D007076:Iguanas / Q000235:genetics*; D062312:Islands; D058974:Phylogeography; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial
keywords: Archipelago; Conservation; Iguana delicatissima; Mitochondrial DNA