Abstract
Two species of the genus Gryllus occur in Europe: G. campestris and G. bimaculatus. The first is widely distributed in the north-western Palaearctic, while the second, G. bimaculatus, occurs predominantly in the Mediterranean area. There is a visible pattern in the distribution of G. campestris, the insect being rare and threatened in the western part of its range, whereas it is still abundant in the east. Despite the fact that this species is commonly used in laboratory experiments, its natural populations are poorly characterised. In the present study, we analysed cricket populations from the lower Oder and Vistula River valleys in Poland. Based on the phylogeny of the mtDNA cytochrome b fragment, we found that 17% of the individuals studied had a G. bimaculatus-like mtDNA haplotype. Analyses of 11 autosomal microsatellite loci failed to reveal any clear genetic differentiation between individuals assigned to these two clades. This suggests, along with the spatial distribution of G. bimaculatus-like haplotypes, successful interbreeding of G. bimaculatus with native populations of G. campestris. However, both the nuclear data and additional analyses of two X-chromosome-linked microsatellite loci revealed incomplete introgression. Human-mediated introgression seems to be the most plausible explanation of the observed genotypic pattern such that caution needs to be taken in conservation efforts carried out in the western part of the species' range.
Highlights
Populations of the field cricket, Gryllus campestris L. (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) vary in terms of conservation status across the species’ European range
During the research we discovered introgression of G. bimaculatus-like haplotypes into the G. campestris gene pool
Haplotype (H3) was located on the G. bimaculatus branch, it was highly divergent from all G. bimaculatus specimens (Fig. 2)
Summary
Populations of the field cricket, Gryllus campestris L. (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) vary in terms of conservation status across the species’ European range. Populations of the field cricket, Gryllus campestris L. (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) vary in terms of conservation status across the species’ European range. In the UK, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark and Switzerland, the species is rare and included in the Red Lists (Hochkirch et al, 2007). Populations from central-eastern Europe are abundant, and appear to show stable dynamics over time (Bazyluk & Liana, 2000). The most distinct contrast in the state of the field cricket population seems to be visible in Germany and Poland. Grein (2000, 2005 after Hochkirch et al, 2007) states that only ten populations are left in Lower Saxony and one west of the Weser River. But 400 km to the east in Poland, the species is still very common and widely distributed throughout the whole country (Bazyluk & Liana, 1990, 2000)
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