Phylogeography and Systematics of the Mud Turtle, Kinosternon baurii
Mitochondrial control region DNA sequence data were examined to determine levels and patterns of variation in 36 striped mud turtles, Kinosternon baurii, from 10 geographic locations across the species' range. Levels of sequence divergence were low, and 20 variable sites defined 18 haplotypes. Although unique haplotypes were found at most locations, several haplotypes were distributed rangewide. In particular, the putatively isolated population of the lower Florida Keys did not significantly differ genetically from the upper Florida Keys or mainland populations. Based on our analysis of 415 bp, the lower Florida Keys population either is not isolated or is very recently isolated from the remainder of the range. The lower Florida Keys population is classified as endangered by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and extirpation of this population through loss of habitat seems likely. Efforts to protect suitable habitat for K. baurii, however, may increase the risk of extinction of other endangered species, such as the Key deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium).Abstract
Phylogenetic tree for Kinosternon baurii control region haplotypes estimated using maximum-likelihood distances and neighbor-joining clustering. Haplotype designations are indicated in parentheses. The solid bar indicates the Florida Keys populations, the light hatched bar indicates the mainland populations, and the dark hatch bar is the widespread haplotype (D). Lower Florida Keys population names are underlined. Kinosternon subrubrum was used as an outgroup. Branch lengths are proportional to the number of changes and the scale bar represents the number of expected changes per site. Numbers above branches indicate the frequency at which that node was found among the 1451 equal most-parsimonious trees and numbers below are bootstrap values. Only nodes found in 75% or more of the trees and bootstrap values greater than 60 are indicated