ABSTRACT The Endangered Pickersgill’s Reed Frog (Hyperolius pickersgilli) is endemic to South Africa and restricted to the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) coast. The natural habitat of H. pickersgilli is limited to fragmented patches of coastal reed-bed wetland, the majority of which continues to undergo transformation and degradation caused by urbanisation, agriculture, mining and forestry. These changes have resulted in the steady reduction of suitable, quality habitat and severe fragmentation. In the current study we employed mitochondrial DNA and species-specific microsatellites markers (developed in the current study) to investigate the genetic structure and diversity of H. pickersgilli. Genetic markers revealed moderate to high levels of genetic diversity throughout the remnant groups and absence of specific phylogeographic structure among individuals sampled across twelve localities throughout the range of the species. Results from the current study indicate that gene flow between H. pickersgilli individuals is not restricted, whereby neighbouring groups may interact with each other through continued migration, thereby facilitating possible range expansion should habitat be available. However, the need for continued conservation of the H. pickersgilli population through the protection and management of its natural habitats should remain a top priority in order to conserve representative levels of genetic diversity.

中文翻译：

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濒临灭绝的皮克斯吉尔芦苇蛙缺乏系统地理学结构；Hyperolius pickersgilli (Raw, 1982)

摘要 濒临灭绝的皮克斯吉尔芦苇蛙 (Hyperolius pickersgilli) 是南非特有的，仅限于夸祖鲁-纳塔尔 (KZN) 海岸。H.pickersgilli 的自然栖息地仅限于沿海芦苇床湿地的片片碎片，其中大部分继续经历城市化、农业、采矿和林业造成的改造和退化。这些变化导致适宜、优质栖息地的不断减少和严重的破碎化。在当前的研究中，我们使用线粒体 DNA 和物种特异性微卫星标记（在当前研究中开发）来调查 H.pickersgilli 的遗传结构和多样性。遗传标记揭示了整个残余群体的中等至高水平的遗传多样性，并且在整个物种范围内的 12 个地点采样的个体之间缺乏特定的系统地理学结构。当前研究的结果表明，H.pickersgilli 个体之间的基因流动不受限制，相邻的群体可能会通过持续迁徙相互影响，从而在栖息地可用时促进可能的范围扩大。然而，通过保护和管理其自然栖息地来持续保护 H.pickersgilli 种群的需要仍然是首要任务，以保护具有代表性的遗传多样性水平。当前研究的结果表明，H.pickersgilli 个体之间的基因流动不受限制，相邻的群体可能会通过持续迁徙相互影响，从而在栖息地可用时促进可能的范围扩大。然而，通过保护和管理其自然栖息地来持续保护 H.pickersgilli 种群的需要仍然是首要任务，以保护具有代表性的遗传多样性水平。当前研究的结果表明，H.pickersgilli 个体之间的基因流动不受限制，相邻的群体可能会通过持续迁徙相互影响，从而在栖息地可用时促进可能的范围扩大。然而，通过保护和管理其自然栖息地来持续保护 H.pickersgilli 种群的需要仍然是首要任务，以保护具有代表性的遗传多样性水平。