Abstract:
Many sub-Antarctic islands experienced major glaciation and volcanic activity. It might be predicted that substantial population substructure and little genetic isolation-by-distance should characterize indigenous species. By contrast, substantially less population structure might be expected for introduced species. Here we examine these predictions and their consequences for the conservation of diversity in the region. We do so by examining haplotype diversity based on mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI. sequence data, from one indigenous (Tullbergia bisetosa. and one introduced (Isotomurus maculatus. species from Marion Island. It has widely been suggested that warming climates would favour invasive species, with endemic species moving to high latitudes/altitudes. Microsatellites (or SSRs: simple sequence repeats. are among the most frequently used DNA markers in many areas of research. They have a higher mutation rate than other areas of DNA leading to high genetic diversity. Microsatellites are also used in population genetics to measure levels of relatedness between subspecies, groups and individuals. The high variability, ease, and accuracy of assaying microsatellites make them the marker of choice for high-resolution population analysis. Microsatellites with only a few alleles are well suited for population genetic studies, while the more variable loci are ideal for genome mapping and pedigree analysis and the fixed or less polymorphic microsatellite loci are used to resolve taxonomic ambiguity in different taxa. - Abstract as displayed in the - Abstract booklet. The presentation on the day may differ from the - Abstract.
