Evolutionary genomics of endangered Hawaiian tree snails (Achatinellidae: Achatinellinae) for conservation of adaptive capacity

Phylogenomic studies can provide insights into speciation, adaptation, and extinction, while providing a roadmap for conservation. Hawaiian tree snails are a model system for an adaptive radiation facing an extinction crisis. In the last 5 years, nearly all populations of Hawaiian tree snails across...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:PeerJ (San Francisco, CA) Vol. 9; p. e10993
Main Authors: Price, Melissa R, Hadfield, Michael G, Knapp, Ingrid S S, Toonen, Robert J, Forsman, Zac H
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States PeerJ. Ltd 22-04-2021
PeerJ, Inc
PeerJ Inc
Subjects:
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Phylogenomic studies can provide insights into speciation, adaptation, and extinction, while providing a roadmap for conservation. Hawaiian tree snails are a model system for an adaptive radiation facing an extinction crisis. In the last 5 years, nearly all populations of Hawaiian tree snails across the 30 remaining species in the subfamily Achatinellinae (Achatinellidae) have declined from hundreds or thousands in the wild down to undetectable levels. Nearly 100 species historically occurred across dramatic environmental gradients on five of the Hawaiian Islands, but habitat loss, overcollection, and predation by invasive species have decimated populations. As such, this system offers the opportunity to integrate efforts to conserve evolutionary potential into conservation planning for a rapidly declining subfamily. Here, we used genome-wide, restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (RADseq), along with mitochondrial genome reconstruction, to resolve evolutionary relationships to inform conservation efforts. Phylogenetic analysis of nearly 400k genome-wide SNPs from 59 populations and 25 species across six genera in the family Achatinellidae, was generally concordant with taxonomy, geography, and mtDNA with several notable exceptions; mtDNA was unable to resolve some deeper nodes (e.g., the monophyly of ), while SNP data did not resolve as many shallow nodes. Both phylogenetic and coalescent analysis revealed deep divergences between populations within that were consistent with species-level differences. Given cryptic species-level divergence within populations that are geographically proximate, they are at higher risk of extirpation from invasive predators and climate change than previously assumed. This study clarifies evolutionary relationships within this model system for adaptive radiation, forming the basis for conservation strategies such as translocation, captive rearing, and hybridization trials to prevent the loss of capacity to adapt to rapidly changing environmental conditions.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:2167-8359
2167-8359
DOI:10.7717/peerj.10993