Pleistocene sea-level fluctuation shapes archipelago-wide population structure in the Endangered Lord Howe Island cockroach Panesthia lata

Abstract

Studies of biogeographic processes have often centred islands as model systems, yet questions remain about the role of Pleistocene sea-level fluctuations in shaping islands biodiversity. One novel, potentially informative model system is the Lord Howe Island Group of Australia. Despite the World Heritage status of this archipelago, almost nothing is known of the biogeographic origins, evolutionary distinctiveness or genetic diversity of the ecological communities across its 28 islands. In this study, we focused on the cockroach Panesthia lata, an ecologically specialized invertebrate with one of the broadest recorded distributions of any LHIG species. To investigate the influence of Pleistocene sea-level fluctuations on LHIG fauna, we explored the phylogeography of P. lata using single-nucleotide polymorphisms and complete mitochondrial genomes. Our analyses reveal that the lineage on the permanently isolated islet Balls Pyramid is highly divergent from the remaining populations, while those on the episodically connected Lord Howe, Roach and Blackburn Islands experienced gene flow during the last glacial period. These results offer the first evidence that Pleistocene land bridges allowed for overland migration across the archipelago. Further, although P. lata was believed to have been locally extirpated by rodents on Lord Howe Island, we discovered two surviving, relict populations. We also detected high levels of inbreeding in all populations, emphasizing the need for ongoing conservation management. Finally, the combination of shallow genetic structure and low diversity suggests that genetic rescue from another island may be a viable strategy to conserve the Lord Howe Island population of P. lata, as well as other species that have been similarly impacted by rodents.