SNP’s, Snails, and Mountain Trails
Faculty Mentor Information
Christine Parent, Mason Linscott
Abstract
Mountainsnails of the genus Oreohelix form the most speciose genus of land snails in North America. The Lower Salmon River valley [LSR] in Idaho is the most phenotypically diverse assemblage of Oreohelix in the continental United States. The taxa in the LSR are noted for having unusual shell sculpture and being restricted to narrow dolomite and limestone outcrops pervasive throughout the valley. The Oreohelix idahoensis species cluster is the quintessential example of an LSR mountainsnail as it possesses both the morphological complexity that characterizes the assemblage, having strongly developed riblets and conical spire, as well as a complex distribution limited to limestone sky-islands. As these populations are divided by large barriers such as the Seven Devils mountain range, as well as the Salmon and Snake rivers, it is possible significant population genetic substructure could exist among the idahoensis species cluster due to barriers to gene flow or strong local adaption, which may place these populations on separate evolutionary trajectories. I am studying possible population level differentiation within the species idahoensis species cluster. I hypothesize that populations from the LSR will have significant differences in allele frequencies compared to those in the Snake river drainages indicating significant population substructure among idahoensis snails.
SNP’s, Snails, and Mountain Trails
Mountainsnails of the genus Oreohelix form the most speciose genus of land snails in North America. The Lower Salmon River valley [LSR] in Idaho is the most phenotypically diverse assemblage of Oreohelix in the continental United States. The taxa in the LSR are noted for having unusual shell sculpture and being restricted to narrow dolomite and limestone outcrops pervasive throughout the valley. The Oreohelix idahoensis species cluster is the quintessential example of an LSR mountainsnail as it possesses both the morphological complexity that characterizes the assemblage, having strongly developed riblets and conical spire, as well as a complex distribution limited to limestone sky-islands. As these populations are divided by large barriers such as the Seven Devils mountain range, as well as the Salmon and Snake rivers, it is possible significant population genetic substructure could exist among the idahoensis species cluster due to barriers to gene flow or strong local adaption, which may place these populations on separate evolutionary trajectories. I am studying possible population level differentiation within the species idahoensis species cluster. I hypothesize that populations from the LSR will have significant differences in allele frequencies compared to those in the Snake river drainages indicating significant population substructure among idahoensis snails.