Habitat fragmentation can influence the genetics of a population through the direct loss of genetic diversity, and by the genetic processes that occur as a result of small remnant populations or the geographic isolation of populations. I examined the population genetics of two woodland amphibian species in localities with different land-use histories. The wood frog (Rana sylvatica) and the red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus) use the same general habitat but differ with respect to a few key life-history characteristics relating to dispersal. I then compared between species the relative influence each land-use scenario had on the population genetic structure. I found that habitat fragmentation affected the population genetics of the two amphibians and did so differently for each species. The differential population genetic response of these two amphibians to habitat fragmentation reinforces the important role of life-history characteristics in how the genetic structure of a population is shaped over time.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.101625 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Meyer, Shavonne. |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Department of Biology.) |
| Rights | © Shavonne Meyer, 2007 |
| Relation | alephsysno: 002612687, proquestno: AAIMR32753, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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