Morphometric and molecular differences among Calvertius tuberosus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) populations associated with Andean and coastal populations of Araucaria araucana in the La Araucanía Region, Chile

摘要

Calvertius tuberosus(Curculionidae) lives exclusively onAraucaria araucanatrees (commonly known as pehuen) in southern Chile. In this study, morphometric and molecular genetic analyses of Andean and coastal populations ofC. tuberosuswere performed to evaluate evolutionary divergence associated with the discontinuity of theAraucariaforest between the coastal and Andean regions. Specimens ofC. tuberosuswere collected in Nahuelbuta National Park, Villa Las Araucarias, and Malalcahuello National Reserve and were classified and stored at the Animal Biotechnology Researching Laboratory (LINBA), University of La Frontera, Temuco, Chile. Thirteen morphometric parameters and the expression patterns of ISSR (inter-simple sequence repeat) markers were analyzed. Morphometric data revealed high phenotypic similarity between coastal populations. The genetic analysis revealed a high similarity between coastal populations (genetic identity, 93%), which were differentiated from the Andean population (genetic identity, 84%). This study contributes new genotypic and phenotypic data for theC. tuberosuspopulations in forest ecosystems ofA. araucana, and clarifies the associations between these characteristics and the geographic distributions of populations.