Genetic Divergence among Populations of the Yellow-Bellied Slider Turtle (Pseudemys scripta) Separated by Aquatic and Terrestrial Habitats

Allelic variation at 18 loci is described for Pseudemys scripta (N = 367) livetrapped from 12 populations, representing three habitat types separated by different types of intervening habitat (terrestrial vs aquatic). Of the 18 loci examined 13 were polymorphic. Mean heterozygosity was 0.131. Significant allele frequency differences were observed among the 12 populations. Patterns of allelic differentiation and overall genetic divergence among populations were not consistent across habitat types. Populations from aquatically separated habitats had significantly higher heterozygosities than did populations from terrestrially separated habitat and showed less interpopulation genetic distance/unit distance. However, genetic similarities among populations appear to be a function of geographic proximity, regardless of the intervening habitat and potential for dispersal and interpopulation gene flow.