An isolated crested newt population in Dutch coastal dunes: distribution relict or introduction?

Abstract Isolated distribution patches may represent local remnants of a formerly wider range or could have originated by human-mediated expansion beyond the natural range. Distinguishing between these two scenarios is not always straightforward. Northern crested newts ( Triturus cristatus ) in the Dutch coastal dunes are disconnected from the main species range by over 40 kilometres and whether they have been present historically is unclear. We genotyped crested newts from throughout the Netherlands for an mtDNA marker to determine the provenance of the coastal dune population. Because a clos... Mehr ...

Verfasser: de Brouwer, Jurian
Helder, Bas
France, James
de Visser, Manon C.
Struijk, Richard P.J.H.
Wielstra, Ben
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2022
Reihe/Periodikum: Amphibia-Reptilia ; volume 44, issue 1, page 19-26 ; ISSN 0173-5373 1568-5381
Verlag/Hrsg.: Brill
Sprache: unknown
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-28998807
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15685381-bja10103

Abstract Isolated distribution patches may represent local remnants of a formerly wider range or could have originated by human-mediated expansion beyond the natural range. Distinguishing between these two scenarios is not always straightforward. Northern crested newts ( Triturus cristatus ) in the Dutch coastal dunes are disconnected from the main species range by over 40 kilometres and whether they have been present historically is unclear. We genotyped crested newts from throughout the Netherlands for an mtDNA marker to determine the provenance of the coastal dune population. Because a closely related species, the Italian crested newt ( T. carnifex ), has an introduction history in the Netherlands, we also screened eight nuclear DNA SNP markers diagnostic for T. cristatus vs. T. carnifex . The crested newts from the coastal dunes carry a single T. cristatus mtDNA haplotype that naturally occurs in the south, but not the east, of the Netherlands. Therefore, we cannot distinguish if the population represents a natural distribution relict or is derived from an introduction. We find no evidence of genetic admixture with T. carnifex in the coastal dunes, but such admixture is apparent at another Dutch locality (far removed from a previously known genetically admixed population). Our study illustrates how difficult it can be to determine the origin of isolated populations.