Historical domestication-driven population expansion of the dung beetle Gymnopleurus mopsus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) from its last refuge in Mongolia.

ABSTRACT: Populations of Gymnopleurus mopsus (family Scarabaeidae), a dung beetle that displays dung-rolling behavior (i.e., a telecoprid), have recently experienced sharp declines, and many populations are now at high risk of local extinction. However, Mongolia, which constitutes a major portion of the species' distribution, still sustains a relatively large population. Here, we used mitochondrial COI sequences to investigate the within-population genetic diversity and both the genetic and phylogeographic structures of 24 G. mopsus populations across the species' main distribution in Mongolia. Several lines of evidence indicated that the phylogeographic structure of G. mopsus had been influenced by a recent and sudden demographic expansion. Interestingly, the expansion of Mongolia's G. mopsus popul

SUBMITTER: Kang JH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5834528 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature