Drainage Network Morphology Influences Population Structure and Gene Flow of the Andean Water Frog Telmatobius pefauri (Anura: Telmatobiidae) of the Atacama Desert, Northern Chile.

Desert aquatic species tend to show isolated and disconnected populations due to the fragmented nature of their environment; however, the morphology of the hydrographic basins, added to humid climatic conditions, can allow dispersion between populations in a desert environment. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of drainage morphology on the phylogeographic structure and gene flow (using a fragment of the mitochondrial control region and seven microsatellite markers) of an endemic taxon of the Andean Precordillera in the Atacama Desert, the aquatic frog species Telmatobius pefauri. We detected three genetic clusters, one cluster present in the Lluta basin and two clusters in the Azapa basin. The results suggest that the genetic structure of T. pefauri is influenced by the morphology of the drainage network formed by the Lluta and Azapa basins: localities present in the same drainage, Tignamar River, were less differentiated and showed higher gene flow levels among them than to their conspecifics belonging to the other drainage in the same basin, Seco River, and those belonging to the other basin, Lluta basin. Gene flow patterns and genetic structure to populations Atacama Andean aquatic taxa would be influenced by basin morphology, with dispersion being stimulated in dendritic hydrological systems, and eventually by humid climatic (regional) events.

The taxonomic status of two Telmatobius frog species (Anura: Telmatobiidae) from the western Andean slopes of northernmost Chile.

On the basis of molecular and morphological evidence, we evaluated the taxonomic identity of two species of Andean frogs of the genus Telmatobius: Telmatobius pefauri and T. zapahuirensis, present in the western Andean slopes at the northern extreme of Chile. We also investigated the taxonomic assignment of five populations of Telmatobius recently discovered around the type localities of these two species. The results indicate that T. pefauri inhabits, not only Murmuntani its type locality, but also the montane localities of Belén, Copaquilla, Lupica, Saxamar and Socoroma. Our study also shows that T. pefauri and T. zapahuirensis are the same taxon. Therefore, Telmatobius zapahuirensis Veloso, Sallaberry, Navarro, Iturra, Valencia, Penna & Díaz, 1982 would be a subjective junior synonym of Telmatobius pefauri Veloso & Trueb, 1976.

Evolution and Conservation on Top of the World: Phylogeography of the Marbled Water Frog (Telmatobius marmoratus Species Complex; Anura, Telmatobiidae) in Protected Areas of Chile.

The Andean Altiplano has served as a complex setting throughout its history, driving dynamic processes of diversification in several taxa. We investigated phylogeographic processes in the Telmatobius marmoratus species complex occurring in this region by studying the geographic patterns of genetic variability, genealogies, and historical migration, using the cytochrome b (cyt-b) gene as a marker. DNA sequences from Telmatobius gigas and Telmatobius culeus, Bolivian species with an uncertain taxonomic status, were also included. Additionally, we evaluated the phylogenetic diversity (PD) represented within Chilean protected areas and the complementary contribution from unprotected populations. Phylogenetic reconstructions from 148 cyt-b sequences revealed 4 main clades, one of which corresponded to T. culeus. T. gigas was part of T. marmoratus clade indicating paraphyletic relationships. Haplotypes from Chilean and Bolivian sites were not reciprocally monophyletic. Geographic distribution of lineages, spatial Bayesian analysis, and migration patterns indicated that T. marmoratus displays a weaker geographic structure than expected based on habitat distribution and physiological requirements. Demographic and statistical phylogeography analyses pointed out to a scenario of recent population expansion and high connectivity events of a more recent age than the post Last Glacial Maximum, probably associated to more humid events in Altiplano. PD of T. marmoratus populations within protected areas represents 55.6% of the total estimated PD. The unprotected populations that would contribute the most to PD are Caquena and Quebe (21%). Recent evolutionary processes and paleoclimatic changes, potentially driving shifts in habitat connectivity levels and population sizes, could explain the phylogeographic patterns recovered herein.