PARENT SESSION
Poster Session 36: Genetics / Population Ecology
Thursday, August 11, 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM, Exhibit Hall 220 A-E, Level 2, Palais des congrès de Montréal
Graveyards and herps: urbanization and the survival of Montreal salamanders.
Noël, Sarah*,1, Ouellet, Martin1, Galois, Patrick1, Lapointe, François-Joseph1, 1 Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada
ABSTRACT- Monteregian hills are areas of high biodiversity in Quebec (Canada), where one can find five out of the six amphibian species designated by the provincial government. However, due to increasing urban development, those once natural zones are now more and more fragmented. One of the monteregian hills, the Mont-Royal, probably has the oldest history of urban perturbations in North America. Located in the heart of Montreal City, this green oasis has been altered since 1700 by the construction of roads, cemeteries, water tanks, antennas and buildings. Today, the mountain is highly fragmented and the four remaining red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus) populations are isolated. Because of genetic drift, inbreeding and absence of gene flow, we postulate that the genetic structure of the red-backed salamander has been altered by habitat fragmentation. To test this hypothesis, population genetic structure on the Mont-Royal was compared with Mont-Megantic, an undisturbed monteregian hill. Data from six microsatellite loci were analyzed for 100 individuals from each mountain. Allelic frequencies were different in the two mountains and a higher genetic diversity was found in the unfragmented habitat. These results indicate that urbanization of the Mont-Royal has significantly changed the genetic structure of the red-backed salamander.
Key words: fragmentation, genetic diversity, red-backed salamander, urbanization