Genetic structure of the frogs Geocrinia lutea and Geocrinia rosea reflects extreme population divergence and range changes, not dispersal barriers

Abstract

I describe the genetic structure of two frog species, Geocrinia rosea and Geocrinia lutea, using allozyme electrophoresis to understand population structure and thereby possible mechanisms of divergence and speciation. The sampling regimes represented the entire range of both species and provided replicated tests of the impact of ridges, rivers, and dry forest on gene flow. Geocrinia rosea and G. lutea were highly genetically subdivided (F(ST) = 0.69, 0.64, respectively). In the extreme, there were fixed allelic differences between populations that were only 4 km (G. rosea) or 1.25 km (G. lutea) apart. In addition to localized divergence, two-dimensional scaling of genetic distance allowed the recognition of broad-scale genetic groups, each consisting of several sample sites. Patterns of divergence were unrelated to the presence of ridges, rivers, or dry forest. I argue that range contraction and expansion, combined with extreme genetic divergence in single, isolated populations, best accounts for the genetic structure of these species.