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Summary: Adaptive divergence within and between ecotypes of the terrestrial
garter snake, Thamnophis elegans, assessed with FST-QST
comparisons
M. K. MANIER, C. M. SEYLER & S. J. ARNOLD
Department of Zoology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
Introduction
Adaptive divergence is often a compromise between the
opposing forces of selection and gene flow. The tension
between these forces is especially strong in the case of
ecotypic differentiation, in which populations in close
proximity may become locally adapted to different
selective pressures in the presence of persistent gene
flow. An ongoing challenge is to establish the degree and
scale of ecotypic differentiation, empirical questions that
must be tackled on a taxon by taxon basis. We pursue an
analysis of ecotypic differentiation using FST-QST com-
parison and test a hypothesis of divergence within and
between ecotypes. We further identify candidate select-
ive agents using direct and indirect observations of
predation events.
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