Geographic Protein Variation and Divergence in Populations of the Salamander Plethodon cinereus
Highton R and Webster TP. 1976. Geographic Protein Variation and Divergence in Populations of the Salamander Plethodon cinereus. Evolution. 30(1):33 - 45
Plethodon cinereus is widespread, with little apparent difference in specimens from widely separated locales. By the use of electrophoresis, the authors were able to demonstrate that significant differences do exist between populations, more especially among those from unglaciated regions. The results are tabulated. Geographic variation at 24 polypeptide loci was studied in 24 populations of the red-backed salamander, Plethodon cinereus. At 6 loci, differentiation of the continuously distributed northern populations from the five southern isolates is complete or almost complete. The latter are recognized as a separate species, P. serratus. Differentiation within P. serratus is modest. The seven samples of P. cinereus that were collected from formerly glaciated areas are very uniform, while there is substantial divergence among the eight samples from unglaciated localities. Colonization since the last Pleistocene glaciation has apparently represented only a small portion of the diversity of the potential source area.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Highton, Richard; Webster, T
- Units
- GRSM
- Keywords
- Animal Studies, Electrophoresis, Great Smoky Mountains National Park NC TN, GRSM-00104, Plethodon cinereus (salamander)