Our goal was to collect baseline genetic information on endemic sliders and possible hybridization with introduced sliders...

Is there evidence for the genetic introgression of Red-eared Sliders into populations of the endemic Fuerte River Slider and the Yaqui Slider?

Collaborator: Dr. Phil Rosen, School of Natural Resources, University of Arizona

Ongoing studies of endemic sliders in the Rio Grande and at Cuatrocienegas indicate that hybridization may be a top threat facing Southwestern turtles. Red-eared Sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans), from the Mississippi River basin, have been introduced globally, with various known and unstudied impacts. One of the gravest may be hybridization and swamping of locally adapted, unique sliders of many subspecies and species throughout the New World. Two endemic taxa occur in our area, the Fuerte River Slider (T. hiltoni) and the Yaqui Slider (T. yaquia).

Our goal was to collect baseline genetic information on endemic sliders and possible hybridization with introduced sliders. We identified mitochondrial and nuclear (microsatellite) DNA regions useful for characterizing population and inter-specific differences among sliders and characterized the degree of distinctiveness of the Yaqui Slider. This genetic baseline allows us now to test for inter-specific hybridization in a larger sample set to protect the genetic integrity of the endemic sliders.