Long Generation Time Delays the Genetic Response to Habitat Fragmentation in the Threatened Florida Sand Skink
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-2010
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1670/09-089.1
Abstract
A recent study showed that populations of the threatened Florida Sand Skink had limited loss of genetic diversity over the past 60 yr as a consequence of anthropogenic fragmentation. This study assumed that 60 yr represents 30–37 generations for the Florida Sand Skink, but a new evaluation of mark–recapture data shows that 60 yr represents only about 15 generations. This result suggests that too little time may have passed to observe the full genetic consequences of contemporary anthropogenic fragmentation in the Florida Sand Skink and reinforces similar results from other species. We suggest that snapshots of existing genetic variability in fragmented populations are limited in their ability to predict the evolutionary fate of a species unless life-history attributes of the organism are taken into account.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Journal of Herpetology, v. 44, issue 4, p. 641-644
Scholar Commons Citation
McCoy, Earl D.; Richmond, Jonathan Q.; Mushinsky, Henry R.; Britt, Eric J.; and Godley, J Steve, "Long Generation Time Delays the Genetic Response to Habitat Fragmentation in the Threatened Florida Sand Skink" (2010). Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications. 122.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/bin_facpub/122
