Population structure of a widespread bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) in an island system.

ABSTRACT: Dispersal is a driving factor in the creation and maintenance of biodiversity, yet little is known about the effects of habitat variation and geography on dispersal and population connectivity in most mammalian groups. Bats of the family Molossidae are fast-flying mammals thought to have potentially high dispersal ability, and recent studies have indicated gene flow across hundreds of kilometers in continental North American populations of the Brazilian free-tailed bat, Tadarida brasiliensis. We examined the population genetics, phylogeography, and morphology of this species in Florida and across islands of The Bahamas, which are part of an island archipelago in the West Indies. Previous studies indicate that bats in the family Phyllostomidae, which are possibly less mobile than mem

SUBMITTER: Speer KA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5632666 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature