caa a22 4500 445857692 CHVBK 20180317145433.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170323e20110801xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s10592-011-0194-0 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s10592-011-0194-0 Effective population size is strongly correlated with breeding pond size in the endangered California tiger salamander, Ambystoma californiense [Elektronische Daten] [Ian Wang, Jarrett Johnson, Benjamin Johnson, H. Shaffer] Maintaining genetic diversity and population viability in endangered and threatened species is a primary concern of conservation biology. Genetic diversity depends on population connectivity and effective population size (Ne), both of which are often compromised in endangered taxa. While the importance of population connectivity and gene flow has been well studied, investigating effective population sizes in natural systems has received far less attention. However, Ne plays a prominent role in the maintenance of genetic diversity, the prevention of inbreeding depression, and in determining the probability of population persistence. In this study, we examined the relationship between breeding pond characteristics and Ne in the endangered California tiger salamander, Ambystoma californiense. We sampled 203 individuals from 10 breeding ponds on a local landscape, and used 11 polymorphic microsatellite loci to quantify genetic structure, gene flow, and effective population sizes. We also measured the areas of each pond using satellite imagery and classified ponds as either hydrologically-modified perennial ponds or naturally occurring vernal pools, the latter of which constitute the natural breeding habitat for A. californiense. We found no correlation between pond area and heterozygosity or allelic diversity, but we identified a strong positive relationship between breeding pond area and Ne, particularly for vernal pools. Our results provide some of the first empirical evidence that variation in breeding habitat can be associated with differences in Ne and suggest that a more complete understanding of the environmental features that influence Ne is an important component of conservation genetics and management. The Author(s), 2011 Effective population size nationallicence Landscape genetics nationallicence Dispersal nationallicence Bottleneck nationallicence Population structure nationallicence Microsatellite nationallicence Wang Ian Center for Population Biology and Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, 95616, Davis, CA, USA aut Johnson Jarrett Center for Population Biology and Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, 95616, Davis, CA, USA aut Johnson Benjamin Center for Population Biology and Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, 95616, Davis, CA, USA aut Shaffer H. Center for Population Biology and Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, 95616, Davis, CA, USA aut Conservation Genetics Springer Netherlands 12/4(2011-08-01), 911-920 1566-0621 12:4<911 2011 12 10592 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-011-0194-0 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-011-0194-0 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Wang Ian Center for Population Biology and Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, 95616, Davis, CA, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Johnson Jarrett Center for Population Biology and Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, 95616, Davis, CA, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Johnson Benjamin Center for Population Biology and Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, 95616, Davis, CA, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Shaffer H. Center for Population Biology and Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, 95616, Davis, CA, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Conservation Genetics Springer Netherlands 12/4(2011-08-01), 911-920 1566-0621 12:4<911 2011 12 10592 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer