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Hybridisation between turtle subspecies: a case study with the European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis)

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Abstract

Genetic introgression has recently become an important concern for conservation genetics as it can occur between rare and related common species, between various genetic groups and between individuals from different origins. Our aims were: (i) to determine whether hybridisation or introgression occurs between Emys orbicularis subspecies in a natural contact zone in France; (ii) to determine the geographic extent of the contact zone between distinct subspecies in France; (iii) to evaluate at which level introgression occurs, and finally; (iv) to evaluate whether combining mitochondrial and nuclear genetic markers reflects the same contact zone as when only one genetic marker is used. Introgression was evaluated by genotyping biparentally inherited microsatellites and sequencing the maternally inherited cytochrome b gene of French populations. We demonstrated strong introgression between subspecies under natural conditions in the old contact zone in southern and eastern France. Our results corroborated that introgression reflects past natural events, but also demonstrated that human impact has altered these patterns. We finally confirmed that the combination of mitochondrial and nuclear genetic markers is more appropriate to reveal introgression than the use of only one genetic marker.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all people who provided samples from French populations: Mathieu Détaint (Conservatoire Régional d’Espaces Naturels Aquitaine), Céline Faure and Benjamin Vollot (natural reserve of Pont-de-Gau), Nadège Gauter (Conservatoire Régional d’Espaces Naturels Aquitaine), Anthony Olivier (natural reserve of Tour-du-Valat), Zoey Owen-Jones (natural reserve of Chérine), Vincent Rivière (Agirécologique) and Timothée Schwartz (A Rocha France). We would also like to thank the French Ministry of Ecology for the capture permits and two reviewers for constructive comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, Section of Conservation Biology, University of Basel, St. Johanns-Vorstadt 10, 4056, Basel, Switzerland

    Matthieu Raemy & Sylvain Ursenbacher

  2. Museum of Zoology (Museum für Tierkunde), Senckenberg Dresden, A. B. Meyer Building, Königsbrücker Landstr. 159, 01109, Dresden, Germany

    Uwe Fritz

  3. Laboratoire Biogéographie et Ecologie des vertébrés, CEFE UMR 5175, CNRS – EPHE, 1919 Route de Mende, 34293, Montpellier, France

    Marc Cheylan

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  1. Matthieu Raemy
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  4. Sylvain Ursenbacher
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Correspondence to Matthieu Raemy.

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Raemy, M., Fritz, U., Cheylan, M. et al. Hybridisation between turtle subspecies: a case study with the European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis). Conserv Genet 18, 287–296 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-016-0901-y

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