Adding More Ecology into Species Delimitation: Ecological Niche Models and Phylogeography Help Define Cryptic Species in the Black Salamander (Aneides flavipunctatus)

Abstract

Being able to efficiently and accurately delimit species is one of the most basic and important aspects of systematics because species are the fundamental unit of analysis in biogeography, ecology, and conservation. We present a rationale and approach for combining ecological niche modeling, spatially explicit analyses of environmental data, and phylogenetics in species delimitation, and we use our methodology in an empirical example focusing on Aneides flavipunctatus, the black salamander (Caudata: Plethodontidae), in California. We assess the relationships between genetic, environmental, and geographic distance among populations. We use 11 climatic variables and point locality data from public databases to create ecological niche models. The suitability of potential contact zones between parapatric lineages is also assessed using the data from ecological niche modeling. Phylogenetic analyses of portions of the mitochondrial genome reveal morphologically cryptic mitochondrial lineages in this species. In addition, we find that patterns of genetic divergence are strongly associated with divergence in the ecological niche. Our work demonstrates the ease and utility of using spatial analyses of environmental data and phylogenetics in species delimitation, especially for groups displaying fine-scaled endemism and cryptic species.