A sequential approach using genetic and morphological analyses to test species status: The case of United States federally endangered Agalinis acuta (Orobanchaceae)

• Autor: Pettengill, James B. ; Neel, Maile C.
• Materias: Agalinis ; Agalinis acuta ; Biological Evolution ; Biological taxonomies ; Botany ; Chloroplasts ; conservation ; Conservation of Natural Resources ; Deoxyribonucleic acid ; DNA ; DNA, Chloroplast - analysis ; Ecological genetics ; Endangered & extinct species ; Endangered Species ; Endangered Species Act ; Evolution ; Federal legislation ; Flowers & plants ; Genetic loci ; Microsatellite Repeats ; Microsatellites ; Orobanchaceae ; Orobanchaceae - anatomy & histology ; Orobanchaceae - classification ; Orobanchaceae - genetics ; phylogenetics ; Phylogeny ; Plant populations ; Plants ; Population genetics ; sandplain gerardia ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; species concepts ; species delimitation ; Systematics and Phytogeography ; Taxa ; Taxonomy ; United States ; Wildlife conservation
• Es parte de: American journal of botany, 2011-05, Vol.98 (5), p.859-871
• Notas: The authors thank G. Dieringer, J. Koontz, D. Lewis, J. L. Neff, and P. Polloni for collecting specimens; C. Frye, B. Gulotta, B. Horwith, M. Jordan, N. Murray, J. Nelson, M. Pelikan, P. Polloni, C. Raithel, S. Ruhren, P. Somers, B. Sorrie, W. Tyndall, B. Zaremba, and the North Carolina Chapter of The Nature Conservancy for assistance in locating populations and for facilitating permits; R. K. Burnett, A. M. Lewis, and M. Linares for assistance with laboratory work; M. W. Lloyd and A. L. Bazinet for assistance with computational issues; and M. Cummings, J. Hall, A. Kawahara, C. Mitter, D. Hawthorne, S. Church, and R. Timme for insightful discussions. J. M. Canne‐Hilliker and J. Hays deserve special recognition for their willingness to share their knowledge of
  Agalinis
  species without which this work would not have been possible. This research was funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement between the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the University of Maryland. Matching funding was provided by the Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station.
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• Descripción: Premise of the study: Given that inaccurate taxonomy can have negative consequences for species of conservation concern and result in erroneous conclusions regarding macroecological patterns, efficient methods for resolving taxonomic uncertainty are essential. The primary objective of this study was to assess the evolutionary distinctiveness of the federally endangered plant species Agalinis acuta (Orobanchaceae) to ensure it represents a distinct taxon warranting protection under the United States Endangered Species Act. Methods: We describe and implement a sequential approach that begins with the most restrictive criteria of genealogical exclusivity within which we first conducted a phylogenetic analysis based on six chloroplast DNA loci assayed from multiple representatives of five putative species. Because of the possibility that incomplete lineage sorting is responsible for the lack of genealogical exclusivity among A. acuta individuals, we then conducted intensive population level analyses based on 21 microsatellite loci and 61 morphological traits. Key results: The distinctiveness of A. acuta from Agalinis decemloba and Agalinis tenella was not supported under the genealogical species concept. The results from the analyses of microsatellite loci and morphological characters evaluated under alternative species concepts also did not support the distinctiveness of A. acuta from A. decemloba. Conclusions: Through this successive approach, we found insufficient evidence to support the evolutionary distinctiveness of the listed taxon A. acuta. We recommend that it be synonymized under A. decemloba and also conclude that the taxon that would now include A. acuta is deserving of protection under the Endangered Species Act.
  
• Editor: United States: Botanical Society of America
  
• Idioma: Inglés