Phylogeography of the Florida mouse (Podomys floridanus)

American Society of Mammalogists, 96th Annual Meeting, Poster, June 27, 2016

Abstract: In addition to anthropogenic fragmentation of habitat, historical biogeographic processes can strongly shape the amount and geographic distribution of diversity. We are using microsatellites, mtDNA sequences and genome-wide SNP markers to investigate how the late-Quaternary geological events have affected the intra-specific diversity of the Florida mouse (*Podomys floridanus*), a xeric habitat associated species that is currently undergoing status assessment in the State of Florida. Data from 530 samples genotyped at 17 microsatellite loci, and 200 sequenced for a partial mitochondrial gene (cyt b) indicate a high degree of geographic structuring. Samples as close as a few kms have moderately high levels of differentiation that can be due to a number of factors. Our data indicate structuring is shaped in part by the discontinuous distribution of Tertiary ridges where scrub and sandhill habitats predominate. Diversity is greatest at southern latitudes, in particular on the Lake Wales Ridge, which is a center of endemism for many scrub endemic species. In addition to biogeographic structuring, population divergence may be the result of ecological processes, including population dynamics that would lead to a relatively strong role for genetic drift that may overlay historical processes and lead to higher differentiation. These data provide useful insight into what may be a relatively complex biogeographic structure in Florida mice, and may influence conservation assessment decisions.