title: Discordant patterns of genetic and phenotypic differentiation in five grasshopper species codistributed across a microreserve network.
abstract: Conservation plans can be greatly improved when information on the evolutionary and demographic consequences of habitat fragmentation is available for several codistributed species. Here, we study spatial patterns of phenotypic and genetic variation among five grasshopper species that are codistributed across a network of microreserves but show remarkable differences in dispersal-related morphology (body size and wing length), degree of habitat specialization and extent of fragmentation of their respective habitats in the study region. In particular, we tested the hypothesis that species with preferences for highly fragmented microhabitats show stronger genetic and phenotypic structure than codistributed generalist taxa inhabiting a continuous matrix of suitable habitat. We also hypothesized a higher resemblance of spatial patterns of genetic and phenotypic variability among species that have experienced a higher degree of habitat fragmentation due to their more similar responses to the parallel large-scale destruction of their natural habitats. In partial agreement with our first hypothesis, we found that genetic structure, but not phenotypic differentiation, was higher in species linked to highly fragmented habitats. We did not find support for congruent patterns of phenotypic and genetic variability among any studied species, indicating that they show idiosyncratic evolutionary trajectories and distinctive demographic responses to habitat fragmentation across a common landscape. This suggests that conservation practices in networks of protected areas require detailed ecological and evolutionary information on target species to focus management efforts on those taxa that are more sensitive to the effects of habitat fragmentation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana, EBD-CSIC, Avda. Américo Vespucio s/n, E-41092, Seville, Spain.
authors.forename: Joaquín
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ortego
authors.affiliation: Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Vicente
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: García-Navas
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Investigación de la Biodiversidad Genética y Cultural, Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos - IREC (CSIC, UCLM, JCCM), Ronda de Toledo s/n, E-13005, Ciudad Real, Spain.
authors.forename: Víctor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Noguerales
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Investigación de la Biodiversidad Genética y Cultural, Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos - IREC (CSIC, UCLM, JCCM), Ronda de Toledo s/n, E-13005, Ciudad Real, Spain.
authors.forename: Pedro J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Cordero
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D005838:Genotype; D006110:Grasshoppers / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D008957:Models, Genetic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010641:Phenotype; D010802:Phylogeny; D011157:Population Dynamics; D013030:Spain
keywords: generalist species; genetic diversity; genetic structure; phenotypic divergence; population fragmentation; population genetics; specialist species