Mixed support for gene flow as a constraint to local adaptation and contributor to the limited geographic range of an endemic salamander

Abstract

Understanding mechanisms that underlie species range limits is at the core of evolutionary ecology. Asymmetric gene flow between larger core populations and smaller edge populations can swamp local adaptation at the range edge and inhibit further range expansion. However, empirical tests of this theory are exceedingly rare. We tested the hypothesis that asymmetric gene flow can constrain local adaptation and thereby species' range limits in an endemic US salamander (Ambystoma barbouri) by determining if gene flow is asymmetric between the core and peripheries of the species' geographic distribution and testing whether local adaptation is swamped at range edges with a reciprocal transplant experiment. Using putatively neutral loci from populations across three core-to-edge transects that covered nearly the entire species' geographic range, we found evidence for asymmetric, core-to-edge gene flow along western and northern transects, but not along a southern transect. Subsequently, the reciprocal transplant experiment suggested that northern and western edge populations are locally adapted despite experiencing asymmetric gene flow, yet have lower fitness in their respective home regions than those of centre population. Conversely, southern populations exhibit low deme quality, experiencing high mortality regardless of where they were reared, probably due to harsher edge habitat conditions. Consequently, we provide rare species-wide evidence that local adaptation can occur despite asymmetric gene flow, though migration from the core may prohibit range expansion by reducing fitness in edge populations. Further, our multitransect study shows that multiple, nonmutually exclusive mechanisms can lead to range limits within a single species.