Grants and Contracts Details
Description
Hellbenders (genus Cryptobranchus) are large, obligately aquatic salamanders that are at risk of local extirpation and global extinction
across their range in the eastern and central US. The past decade has seen the mobilization of substantial and multifarious
conservation initiatives with hellbenders and many great strides have been made toward conserving these salamanders across their
range including successful methods for captive propagation, non-invasive environmental detection methods using eDNA assays, and
the recent federal listing of Ozark populations by USFWS. Despite these encouraging developments, effective and timely hellbender
conservation still hinges critically upon understanding: 1) the boundaries between evolutionarily distinct lineages and the extent of
cryptic species within this genus, 2) population-level parameters, such as effective population sizes, levels of genetic diversity, and rates
of gene flow between populations, and 3) the extent of adaptive genetic divergence between different hellbender lineages. Emerging
research suggests that Cryptobranchus may comprise several unrecognized cryptic species, each more imperiled than currently realized.
Yet, existing population genetic and phylogenetic methods and current protocols for genetic data generation are unable to provide
much needed genome-wide perspectives on lineage boundaries and population dynamics in this group, impeding comprehensive
protection and repatriation efforts. Accordingly, our proposed research leverages several innovative genomic and analytical approaches
to confront these pressing challenges. We have developed and will apply next-generation sequencing methods for genome analysis and
multilocus species delimitation to reveal species boundaries and population genetic structure in this genus, setting the stage for
genetically-informed conservation efforts in this declining group of salamanders.
Status | Finished |
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Effective start/end date | 4/12/13 → 12/31/14 |
Funding
- Caribbean Wildlife Alliance: $1,000.00
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