Part III, An mtDNA Analysis of the Sacramento Valley Tiger Beetle, Cicindela Hirticollis Abrupta, Final Report

Duran, Daniel; Duckett, Catherine; Knisley, Barry

Cicindela hirticollis abrupta and other C. hirticollis subspecies were examined via molecular sequencing techniques in order to ascertain if specimens assigned to the C.h. abrupta subspecies constitute a genetically unique population, and to characterize genetic variation in western C.hirticollis populations. Seventy-seven individual beetles representing 23 populations and nine subspecies of C. hirticollis (sensu Graves et al 1988) were used, converting much of the range of the species with a particular emphasis on populations from California and adjacent areas of western North America. Mitochondrial DNA fragments from cytochrome oxidase III and cytochrome B genes were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), sequenced, and anaylzed phylogenetically using neighbor-joining algorithm implemented in the program PAUP (Swofford 1999). 77 specimens were successfully amplified and sequenced for the cytochrome oxidase III gene and 72 for cytochrome B, it was not possible to amplify all available speimens of C.h. abrupta due to their age and state of preservation. The results of this study indicate that C.h. abrupta is genetically distinct at mitochondrial loci from the population of C.h. gravida at Point Reyes National Seashore, despite its close geographic proximity. The data suggests that C.h. abrupta is more closely related to other western C. hirticollis populations from Nevada, New Mexico and from San Diego Co., California than to any of the nearby coastal populations or any other populations. This study indicates that the Pt. Reyes population is a genetically divergent lineage that is deserving of further attention in its conservation status.