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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 22(2)

A molecular systematic overview of wolf spiders associated with Great Artesian Basin springs in South Australia: evolutionary affinities and an assessment of metapopulation structure in two species

Travis B. Gotch A B , Mark Adams C D , Nick P. Murphy A and Andrew D. Austin A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology & Biodiversity, School of Earth & Environmental Science, The University of Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia.

B Present address: South Australian Arid Lands Natural Resource Management Board, State and Local Government Offices, Roxby Downs, South Australia 5725, Australia.

C Evolutionary Biology Unit, South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia.

D Corresponding author. Email: adams.mark@saugov.sa.gov.au

Invertebrate Systematics 22(2) 151-165 https://doi.org/10.1071/IS07045
Submitted: 24 August 2007  Accepted: 4 April 2008   Published: 12 May 2008

Abstract

The molecular genetic techniques of allozyme electrophoresis and mitochondrial DNA sequencing were used to examine species boundaries, phylogenetic affinities, and population structure in wolf spiders associated with artesian springs of the Great Artesian Basin (GAB) in South Australia. These springs contain the only permanent water in this extremely arid region, and consequently are of great biological, economic, and sociological significance. Molecular diagnoses of species boundaries in nine lycosid species, involving 56 individuals genotyped at 37 putative allozyme loci and 21 individuals sequenced for a ~600-bp portion of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dehydrogenase 1 (NADH1), were largely concordant with those recently proposed on morphological criteria. They also identified a species not previously collected, and suggested that GAB and mesic forms of Venatrix arenaris (Hogg) may not be conspecific. As well as insights into the evolutionary relationships among species and genera, phylogenetic analysis demonstrated two distinct GAB lineages within Venatrix Roewer and Hogna Simon. Population structure analyses of the two most widespread species revealed contrasting patterns. For V. fontis Framenau & Vink, allozyme analyses of 300 individuals at 15 polymorphic loci plus NADH1 sequence analysis of 72 individuals revealed the presence of distinctive subpopulations at most sites, and a partial correlation with overall geographic proximity. In contrast, allozyme analysis of 191 V. arenaris specimens at 12 polymorphic loci demonstrated a comparative lack of both within-site variability and between-site differentiation in the GAB metapopulation.


Acknowledgements

We thank Bruce Gotch, Paul Fitzpatrick, Tom Cambell and Darryl Fitzgerald for assistance in the field and Terry Reardon for technical support. We also wish to thank the pastoralists and other residents in and around the Oodnadatta track, in particular the Crozier, Sims, Williams and Greenfield families, Pete and Bev White, and Adam and Lynnie Plate. We appreciate the input and assistance shown by the traditional owners of the GAB spring country and the access given to enable us to undertake our work, in particular Reg and Ronnie Dodd, Dean and Marilyn AhChee, Uncle Harry, Brownie Doolan and Binchy Lowe. Significant support was provided by Geoff Axford (DEH) and Darren Niejalke and Kelli-Jo Kovac from BHP Billiton all of which was greatly appreciated. This work was part-funded by the Collex Flinders-Baudin Scholarship, BHP Billiton, the DEH Wildlife Fund, the University of Adelaide, and an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant (LP0669062).


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