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Journal of Heredity Advance Access originally published online on July 9, 2009
Journal of Heredity 2009 100(6):715-731; doi:10.1093/jhered/esp041
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© The American Genetic Association. 2009. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.

Original Articles

Genetic Diversification, Vicariance, and Selection in a Polytypic Frog

Jeanne M. Robertson, and Kelly R. Zamudio

From the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Corson Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-2701 (Robertson and Zamudio); the Department of Biological Sciences, Life Sciences South, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho 83844-3051 (Robertson)

Address correspondence to Jeanne M. Robertson, Department of Biological Sciences, Life Sciences South 259, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844-3051, or e-mail: jmrobertson{at}uidaho.edu.

Spatial patterns of heritable phenotypic diversity reflect the relative roles of gene flow and selection in determining geographic variation within a species. We quantified color differentiation and genetic divergence among 20 populations of the red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas) in lower Central America. Phylogenetic analyses revealed 5 well-supported mitochondrial DNA clades, and we infer from our phylogeny that geographic barriers have played a large role in structuring populations. Two phenotypic characters varied independently among isolated population groups: Flank coloration distinguished Caribbean from Pacific individuals, whereas leg coloration exhibited a more complex geographic pattern. We detected 3 generalized spatial patterns of genetic and phenotypic diversity: 1) phenotypic differentiation in the presence of historical connectivity, 2) phenotypic uniformity across genetically differentiated regions, and 3) codistribution of genetic and phenotypic characters. These patterns indicate that phenotypic diversification is highly regionalized and can result from spatial variation in localized adaptations, geographic isolation, genetic drift, and/or evolutionary stasis. Although the mode of selection underlying color variation was not the focal objective of this study, we discuss the possible roles of natural and sexual selection in mediating population differentiation. Our study underscores the fact that selection gradients vary across relatively small spatial scales, even in species that occupy relatively homogeneous environments.

Key Words: Agalychnis • biogeography • color pattern • Costa Rica • Panama

Corresponding Editor: Robert C. Fleischer

Received September 28, 2008
Revised May 30, 2009
Accepted May 30, 2009


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