Population Genetic Structure of the Lesser Long-nosed Bat (Leptonycteris yerbabuenae) in Arizona and Mexico

Abstract

The Leptonycteris yerbabuenae is found in southern Arizona, Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Some females are migratory, mating in southern Mexico, and migrating to maternity roosts in northern Mexico and southern Arizona to give birth. Twelve microsatellite loci markers and the Mitochondrial DNA Control Region (CR) were amplified to examine population structure and phylogenetic relationships among roosts. Twelve polymorphic microsatellite loci were isolated from L. yerbabuenae. A total of sixteen localities in AZ and Mexico were sampled. The mtDNA CR fragment resulted in 102 haplotypes. The phylogenetic analyses resulted in two clades, but no observable geographic structuring. The average FST value across all loci and all sampled localities was 0.022. Program STRUCTURE analyses indicate one population (K=1) throughout the sampling area. These results suggest movement between maternity colonies and transient roosts in Arizona, Sonora, and Chamela, Management recommendations based on these results would be to manage as a single population.