You are here: Home > Activities > Meetings > 2002 > abstracts > Wednesday >
Society for Conservation Biology: 2002 Annual Meeting

Abstracts

< Go Back

Society for Conservation Biology: 2002 Annual Meeting


Society for Conservation Biology 16th Annual Meeting July 14-July 19 2002
co-hosted by DICE and the British Ecological Society


Abstracts for Evolution and Speciation

Wednesday 17th July, 13.30 - 15.00, Rutherford Lecture Theatre 1

Chair: Joseph Dudley




(BLOCK CAPITALS indicate the presenting author)


13.30 - 13.45
BYRNE, MARGARET, Science Division, Department of Conservation and Land Management, Locked Bag 104, Bentley Delivery Centre, WA 6983, Australia (margaretb@calm.wa.gov.au)

PHYLOGENETICS AND CONSERVATION IN A DIVERSE AND ANCIENT FLORA

Knowledge of phylogenetic relationships between taxa is particularly valuable for conservation management in a rich and diverse flora such as that found in the south-west of Western Australia. The complex evolutionary history of the region has resulted in both relictual and recently evolved components in the flora. Several studies have shown incongruence between morphological and phylogenetic relationships either by identifying genetic lineages within taxa or by finding little genetic differentiation between recognised taxa. Conservation efforts may be compromised if morphologically defined entities do not reflect phylogenetic relationships. There are four taxa (three species, one with two subspecies) that have been recognised following a revision of Eucalyptus angustissima. Three of these taxa have very restricted distributions in south-west Western Australia and are considered to be rare. A phylogenetic study was undertaken to assess the genetic differentiation between the taxa, since other studies have found little genetic differentiation between closely related eucalypt species. A study of the nuclear genome using anonymous RFLP loci showed all the taxa to be genetically distinct as expected of separate species, including the two subspecies of E. angustissima which were the most genetically distinct.

13.45 - 14.00
LO, EUGENIA, N. C. Duke, and M. Sun, Department of Zoology, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, <h9702701@hkusua.hku.hk> (EL, MS), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia (NCD).

PHYLOGENETIC EVALUATION OF RHIZOPHORA TAXA FOR CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT

In conservation practice, systematic reappraisals are often needed to recognise the taxonomic unit worthy of particular management attention. The mangrove genus Rhizophora has a wide geographic range, from the Indo West Pacific to Atlantic East Pacific regions. Rhizophora species are morphologically very similar, and putative hybrid forms exist in both regions. This has resulted in considerable confusion for people wanting to identify the specific composition of particular mangrove stands. We use ITS and cpDNA (TrnS-G, TrnH-Rpl2) sequences and ISSR to resolve phylogenetic relationships of R. mucronata, R. stylosa, R. apiculata, R. mangle and a putative hybrid R. lamarckii occurring in East Africa, Australasia and surrounding islands of the south-western Pacific Ocean. Our findings indicate that R. mangle and R. apiculata warrant recognition as separate species whereas R. mucronata and R. stylosa are not always distinguishable based on ITS and ISSR data. Chloroplast data provide further support for the distinct species status of R. mangle and R. apiculata, but tend to cluster R. mucronata and R. stylosa samples according to their geographical locations rather than taxonomic identities. Both nuclear and chloroplast data support the hybrid status of R. lamarckii, with R. apiculata and either R. mucronata or R. stylosa as parents.



14.00 - 14.15
SULLIVAN, MATTHEW S. & Martin J. Jones. Behavioural & Environmental Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, Chester Street, Manchester M1 5GD, UK. <m.sullivan@mmu.ac.uk>.

COMPARATIVE ANALYSES OF EXTINCTION RISK

Cross-species analyses (taking account of phylogenetic relationships) allow us to identify correlates of extinction risk. In particular, they identify evolutionary events (for example a change in ecology or life history) within clades that are correlated with an increase in extinction risk; we present two relevant case studies. In European hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae), a decrease in flight period and an increase wing length are shown to correlate with higher risk (red data book status). A second study considered the correlates of extinction risk in forest birds on Sumba and Buru islands in Wallacea, Indonesia, in which bird abundance and habitat data were collected in the field. Here, the most important variables were those related to the evolutionary history of the species within the Wallacean Archipelago, such as taxonomic distinctiveness and number of islands occupied, and not those more directly related to species ecology. The most abundant taxa were actually the species and sub-species endemic to each island. Overall, we suggest that a comparative approach to extinction risk is an important next step in utilizing the array of data now available on at-risk species which allows integration of current ecology and evolutionary history.



14.15 - 14.30
LYDEARD, CHARLES, and Russell L. Minton. University of Alabama, Biodiversity & Systematics, Department of Biological Sciences, Box 870345, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 35487, USA. clydeard@bama.ua.edu (CL) and Field Museum of Natural History, Department of Zoology, Invertebrate Division, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois, 60605, USA (RLM).
PHYLOGENY, GENETICS AND GLOBAL HERITAGE RANKS OF AN IMPERILED, FRESHWATER SNAIL GENUS LITHASIA
Numerous aquatic species are threatened with extinction from habitat elimination or modification. One particularly imperiled group is the freshwater gastropod family Pleuroceridae. Pleurocerids reach their greatest diversity in the southeastern United States, and many species are currently considered extinct, endangered, or threatened. One issue hindering efforts to implement conservation management plans for imperiled pleurocerid species is that the taxonomy is in an abysmal state. Although most biologists doubt the validity of many of the currently recognized species, this does not stop them from assigning conservation ranks in an attempt to determine which species are imperiled or currently stable. We conducted a phylogenetic analysis of the pleurocerid genus Lithasia using mitochondrial DNA sequence data in an attempt to delimit species boundaries and test previous taxonomic schemes. We found that the current taxonomy of Lithasia does not adequately reflect species diversity with two new undescribed species being discovered. The conservation status of the new, undescribed species is imperiled and would have been overlooked had we relied on conventional taxonomy. Our study suggest that conservation ranks should be considered suspect at best in taxonomically poorly known groups until that taxa are reviewed using modern systematic methods.



14.30 - 14.45
DUDLEY, JOSEPH P. Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks and Department of Earth Sciences, University of Alaska Museum, Fairbanks AK, USA, and Environmental Protection Directorate, United States Army Headquarters, Washington, DC, USA, <elephant_ecosystems@yahoo.com>.


CONSERVATION IMPLICATIONS FOR PROPOSED REVISIONS IN THE TAXONOMY OF AFRICAN ELEPHANTS (LOXODONTA SPP)

The endangerment status and conservation prioritities of local and regional populations of Africa elephants need to be re-evaluated in light of a pending revision in the taxonomy of Loxodonta. Available scientific evidence demonstrates the existence of at least two (and possibly three) evolutionarily divergent and genetically distinct species of Loxodonta. These include: the Bush elephant (Loxodonta africana Blumenbach 1797) of eastern and southern Africa; the Forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis Matshie 1900) of the Congo Basin region of central Africa, and a possible third distinct taxon of Loxodonta (nomina incertae) endemic to the Upper Guinea region of west Africa. The practice of identifying Loxodonta as a monospecific genus has hindered investigation of observed differences in the ecology and morphology of African forest and savannah elephants, and inflated total "species-level" population estimates for African elephants. The Bush elephant (L. africana) population includes > 300,000 individuals, while the total population of the Forest elephant (L. cyclotis) includes only perhaps 25,000-50,000 individuals. The enigmatic "forest elephants" of the Upper Guinea rainforest region are critically endangered, with perhaps 1000 elephants remaining in rainforest habitats and only a single relict population that may contain as many as 400-500 elephants.



14.45 - 15.00
SEYMOUR, RUSSELL, Mike Bruford, Norm MacLeod and Nigel Leader-Williams. Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, London, NW1 4RY UK and Durrell Institute for Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent at Canterbury, Canterbury, CT2 7NS UK <rss@nhm.ac.uk>(RS), Cardiff School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, CF10 3TL, UK (MB), Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD UK (NM) and Durrell Institute for Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent at Canterbury, Canterbury, CT2 7NS UK (NLW).

SUBSPECIES AND ESUS: THE VALUE OF A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO DETERMINING CONSERVATION UNITS.

Intraspecific variation is a logical corollary of Darwinian evolution and is widely documented in many widely distributed mammalian species studied. One question for conservation biologists is whether such differences are geographically structured, enabling recognition of discrete ‘conservation units’ within species-level taxa. Taxonomists have traditionally recognised such variation as subspecies, while conservation biologists may use the ‘Evolutionarily Significant Unit’ (ESU). Therefore, an acceptable, functional determination of intraspecific units may have implications for our views of subspecific mammalian biodiversity and resulting conservation policies. The giraffe, formerly considered to be two separate species, is currently one species with nine subspecies. Phenotypic and genotypic data are presented suggesting that separation of the giraffe into two species may have been valid but that recent large-scale movements have resulted in secondary contact hybridisation between these populations. Further geographical structuring, corresponding to geographical barriers and habitat breaks, is also identified. Equally, examining phenotypic and genotypic data sets in isolation offers a limited perspective. Meanwhile, a holistic approach allows a comprehensive phylogeographic history of the giraffe to be proposed. In turn, this allows discussion of the theoretical and practical implications for the conservation of the giraffe in particular, and for the determination of subspecific conservation units in general.