CONSERVATION BIOLOGY OF A SOUTHWESTERN ENDEMIC, THE TEXAS GARTER SNAKE, THAMNOPHIS SIRTALIS ANNECTENS: AN INTEGRATIVE PERSPECTIVE

We investigate the taxonomic status of the Texas garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis annectens, a species of greatest conservation need in Texas. We broadly test the hypothesis that an integrative approach to species conservation has greater utility than using only a single data type (e.g., molecular,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Southwestern naturalist 2019-03, Vol.64 (1), p.8-19
Main Authors: Key, Kayla N, Banta, Joshua A, Gluesenkamp, Andrew G, Hertweck, Kate L, Placyk, John S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal behavior
Conservation
Conservation biology
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
Ecological niches
Ecology
FEATURE ARTICLES
Garter snakes
Genetics
Morphology
Niches
Phylogeny
Protection and preservation
Resolvers
Snakes
Taxonomy
Thamnophis sirtalis annectens
Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis
Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
Wildlife conservation
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Summary:We investigate the taxonomic status of the Texas garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis annectens, a species of greatest conservation need in Texas. We broadly test the hypothesis that an integrative approach to species conservation has greater utility than using only a single data type (e.g., molecular, morphological, behavioral, or ecological) by demonstrating how ecological niche modeling and molecular genetics can be used synergistically to resolve taxonomic classifications. Using a phylogenetic analysis based on molecular data, we found that some putative T. s. annectens specimens actually represent a co-occurring subspecies (the red-sided garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis), which is not of conservation concern. However, both T. s. annectens and T. s. parietalis are genetically distinctive from another co-occurring subspecies, Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis, and the ecological distinctness of T. s. annectens from T. s. parietalis suggests that T. s. annectens is, in fact, a distinct evolutionary subunit. Only when both genetic and ecological information were included was the distinctiveness of T. s. annectens apparent, thus highlighting the need for integrative approaches in conservation management regardless of the taxa in question.
ISSN:0038-4909
1943-6262
DOI:10.1894/0038-4909-64-1-8