Influenza del dimorfismo comportamentale nella stima della grandezza di popolazione. Il caso di Bufo viridis.

Differenze sessuali nell'utilizzo spazio-temporale del territorio in una popolazione di Bufo viridis in Sicilia

Post-Messinian evolutionary relationships across the Sicilian channel: Mitochondrial and nuclear markers link a new green toad from Sicily to African relatives

19 páginas, 6 figuras y 3 tables

Breeding phenology of Bufo viridis Laurenti, 1768 in Sicily (S Italy)

Note sul comportameno riproduttivo di Bufo viridis in Sicilia

Strong reproductive barriers in a narrow hybrid zone of West-Mediterranean green toads (Bufo viridis subgroup) with Plio-Pleistocene divergence

Abstract Background One key question in evolutionary biology deals with the mode and rate at which reproductive isolation accumulates during allopatric speciation. Little is known about secondary contacts of recently diverged anuran species. Here we conduct a multi-locus field study to investigate a contact zone between two lineages of green toads with an estimated divergence time of 2.7 My, and report results from preliminary experimental crosses. Results The Sicilian endemic Bufo siculus and the Italian mainland-origin B. balearicus form a narrow hybrid zone east of Mt. Etna. Despite bidirectional mtDNA introgression over a ca. 40 km North-South cline, no F1 hybrids could be found, and nu…

New polymorphic microsatellite markers and development of mitotyping primers for West Mediterranean green toad species (Bufo viridis subgroup).

We report new polymorphic microsatellites for three species of Palearctic green toads (Bufo viridis subgroup): 10 in B. balearicus and seven each in B. siculus and B. boulengeri. Diversity at these loci, measured for 27 B. balearicus, 23 B. siculus and 11 B. boulengeri, ranged from low to high (two to 10 alleles). Mitotyping primers, specific to the control region, which allow fast screening of parapatric Sicilian endemic B. siculus and Italian mainland-origin B. balearicus, were developed.

On the origin of the recent herpetofauna of Sicily: Comparative phylogeography using homologous mitochondrial and nuclear genes

Abstract In contrast to oceanic, continental islands are expected to show less diversification and endemism and thus phylogeographic signatures of multiple colonization events from adjacent continents due to episodic connections by sea level changes. In order to test this situation for the herpetofauna of Sicily, we here focus on three amphibian and four reptile species-groups and investigate their phylogeographic relationships across the Sicily and Messina straits, where Plio-Pleistocene marine transgressions shortened the distances between (or connected) Sicily, North Africa and/or the Italian (Apennine) Peninsula. Using a multi-species, multi-marker phylogeographic approach (mitochondria…