IDEA   23902
INSTITUTO DE DIVERSIDAD Y ECOLOGIA ANIMAL
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
artículos
Título:
GENETIC DIVERSITY OF THE WHITE-EARED OPOSSUM Didelphis albiventris (DIDELPHIMORPHIA: DIDELPHIDAE) IN ARGENTINA
Autor/es:
ALBERTO FAMELI; M. AMELIA CHEMISQUY; RAÚL E. GONZÁLEZ-ITTIG; FACUNDO M. MORINIGO
Revista:
MASTOZOOLOGí­A NEOTROPICAL
Editorial:
Sociedad Argentina para el Estudio de los Mamíferos
Referencias:
Año: 2021 vol. 28 p. 1 - 11
ISSN:
1666-0536
Resumen:
The white-eared opossum Didelphis albiventris Lund, 1840, is one the largest and most commonspecies of marsupial in Argentina, distributed from the north of the country up to Neuquén and Río Negroprovinces in the south. The species is present in contrasting environments, such as the Monte (desert) andthe Parana Forest (rainforest), and is also adapted to live in large cities and agricultural fields. Althoughthere are some phylogeographic analyses of Brazilian populations of D. albiventris, showing little variationand some geographic structure, up to now none of them included samples from Argentina. The aim of thiscontribution is to analyze the genetic structure of the species, using two mitochondrial markers (cytochrome band D-loop) on a wide geographic coverage in Argentina (> 10° S). Results showed little genetic variation andlow haplotype diversity, with lesser values than those reported for Brazilian populations. This small variationcould be due to a sudden expansion, which is supported by field observations of the species expanding to thesouth. Unfortunately, the low genetic variability resulted in low statistical power to give conclusive results inthe mismatch analysis or the Bayesian skyline plot. Another possibility is high levels of gene flow, which isconsistent flow, which is consistent with the low correlation beween genetic and geographic distances detectedin the Mantel test (althogh statistically signicant) and the wide home range that the species has. A differentapproach, using a diferent set of markers, is needed in order to analyze the phylogeographic history of D.albiventris.