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GENETIC SUBDIVISIONS AMONG SMALL CANIDS: MITOCHONDRIAL DNA DIFFERENTIATION OF SWIFT, KIT, AND ARCTIC FOXES
Author(s) -
Mercure Alan,
Ralls Katherine,
Koepfli Klaus P.,
Wayne Robert K.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.84
H-Index - 199
eISSN - 1558-5646
pISSN - 0014-3820
DOI - 10.1111/j.1558-5646.1993.tb02157.x
Subject(s) - biology , vulpes , biological dispersal , subspecies , genetic divergence , zoology , mitochondrial dna , population , gene flow , evolutionary biology , ecology , genetic variation , genetic diversity , genetics , predation , demography , sociology , gene
Gene flow can effectively suppress genetic divergence among widely separated populations in highly mobile species. However, the same may not be true of species that typically disperse over shorter distances. Using mtDNA restriction‐site and sequence analyses, we evaluate the extent of divergence among populations of two small relatively sedentary North American canids, the kit and swift foxes (genus Vulpes ). We determine the significance of genetic differentiation among populations separated by distance and those separated by discrete topographic barriers. Our results show the among‐population component of genetic variation in kit and swift foxes is large and similar to that of small rodents with limited dispersal ability. In addition, we found two distinct groupings of genotypes, separated by the Rocky Mountains, corresponding to the traditional division between kit and swift fox populations. Previous workers have characterized these morphologically similar populations either as separate species or subspecies. Our mtDNA data also suggest that kit and swift fox populations hybridize over a limited geographic area. However, the sequence divergence between kit and swift foxes is similar to that between these taxa and the arctic fox ( Alopex lagopus ), a morphologically distinct species commonly placed in a separate genus. This result presents a dilemma for species concepts, and we conclude that kit and swift foxes should be recognized as separate species.