Gordon Draškić, Judit Vörös, Sansareeya Wangkulangkul, and Marko Đurakić

DOI: 10.14456/sjst-psu.2020.134

pp. 1034 - 1044

Abstract

In this study, we analysed patterns of intraspecific structuring between populations of Leptobrachium hendricksoni
from southern Thailand using qualitative and quantitative morphological characters. Furthermore, we compared the phenotypic
divergence with neutral genetic variation based on the concatenated mtDNA 12S, 16S and ND4 sequences (2,452bp). Nonparametric ANOVA analyses in combination with Monte Carlo simulations and Chi-square test for qualitative characters,
showed differences in phenotypical variation between populations of L. hendricksoni from southern Thailand. UPGMA
clustering based on size-and-shape variation and size variation, and simulations under scenario where each population was
represented by 100 individuals (structuring in consensus tree p = 0.5), yielded a similar pattern of population distribution. Our
results highlight the role of ecological mechanisms of adaptation to local habitat types and climate conditions as a driving force
affecting the distribution of morphological characters within L. hendricksoni rather than genetic differentiation due to random
drift and/or genetic flow.