Establishing baseline geographical distributions of extant genetic diversity is increasingly important for future conservation efforts of freshwater species. We analyse the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene to taxonomically characterize 233 samples from recently discovered springsnail populations throughout 17 sites in Arizona, USA. A total of 28 unique COI haplotypes were recovered, with the number of haplotypes ranging from 1 to 4 by population in Arizona. Phylogenetic analyses resulted in haplotypes from 13 of 17 locations in Arizona being successfully identified to species, with five described and three undescribed species in the genus Pyrgulopsis (Hydrobiidae). Future work will require in-depth morphological work to clarify the taxonomic status of these putatively novel species. Importantly, among recovered species, we identified haplotype diversity of the critically endangered Three Forks springsnail, Pyrgulopsis trivialis, in the eastern Gila watershed, which will inform wildlife managers in deciding which source populations to use in reintroduction efforts. We discuss possible causes for observed population structure of Arizona's springsnail populations, with suggestions for the future sampling schemes necessary for the conservation of this uniquely important freshwater mollusc.

中文翻译：

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亚利桑那州最近发现的弹簧蜗牛的种群遗传学和保护

建立现存遗传多样性的基线地理分布对于未来淡水物种的保护工作越来越重要。我们分析线粒体细胞色素 c 氧化酶亚基 I (COI) 基因，对来自美国亚利桑那州 17 个地点的最近发现的春蜗牛种群的 233 个样本进行分类表征。共回收了 28 个独特的 COI 单倍型，单倍型的数量在亚利桑那州的人口范围内为 1 到 4 个。系统发育分析导致来自亚利桑那州 17 个地点中的 13 个的单倍型被成功鉴定为物种，其中 5 个已描述和 3 个未描述的物种属于 Pyrgulopsis (Hydrobiidae)。未来的工作将需要深入的形态学工作来阐明这些假定的新物种的分类地位。重要的是，在恢复的物种中，我们确定了吉拉东部流域极度濒危的三叉泉蜗牛 Pyrgulopsis trivialis 的单倍型多样性，这将告知野生动物管理者决定在重新引入工作中使用哪些来源种群。我们讨论了观察到亚利桑那州泉蜗牛种群结构的可能原因，并为保护这种独特重要的淡水软体动物所必需的未来采样方案提出了建议。