earticle

영어

The Rana plancyi chosenica, a vulnerable species by IUCN Red list and an endangered species in South Korea, has only a limited distribution through western South Korea. Anthropogenic activities have restricted habitat homogeneity. Though the species urgently needs a conservation plan, few studies have been conducted. To establish conservation units for R. p. chosenica, we investigated genetic diversity and population structure using mitochondrial cytochrome b gene (99 samples), control region (77 samples), and 12S rRNA (63 samples), which had 17, 34, and 6 haplotypes, respectively. The mean sequence diversity within the population was less than 1%, which is low compared to other Rana species. Sequence diversity of Pyeongtaek, Paju, and Ongjin populations were relatively high compared to other populations. Most populations have unique haplotypes, particularly Cheongwon and Taean populations. These results suggest that each population is isolated, resulting in reduced gene flow. Based on these results, we suggest that Pyeongtaek, Paju and Ongjin populations, which have the highest genetic diversity or Cheongwon and Taean populations, which have unique haplotypes, should be considered as conservation population units of R. p. chosenica. More detailed genetic data such as microsatellites and ecological studies would assist conservation planning for this species.