What is it about?
In this study, we assessed the potential influence of road infrastructures on genetic differentiation in an French amphibian : the alpine newt. We found no influence of these putative barriers on the genetic structure of this species, and even revealed a possible corridor effect along infrastructures.
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Why is it important?
No impact of road infrastructures was found on spatial patterns of genetic differentiation in the alpine newt. However, simulations showed that this absence of impact was neither due to a lack of power in statistical analyses nor to a lag-time issue. Furthermore, spatial principal component analyses revealed a possible longitudinal corridor effect of infrastructures in females, thus questioning traditional hypothesis regarding the negative impacts of road infrastructures in amphibians.
Perspectives
The combined use of simulated and empirical datasets is a promising approach to explain tricky patterns of genetic differentiation.
Dr Jérôme G. Prunier
Station d'Ecologie Expérimentale du CNRS à Moulis
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: A 40-year-old divided highway does not prevent gene flow in the alpine newt Ichthyosaura alpestris, Conservation Genetics, December 2013, Springer Science + Business Media,
DOI: 10.1007/s10592-013-0553-0.
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