Conservation genetics of a critically endangered Iberian minnow: evidence of population decline and extirpations

In English Abstract The endangered minnow Iberochondrostoma almacai is an endemic Iberian cyprinid with a restricted and fragmented distribution. Here, we describe the genetic structure of the species and infer its demographic history from six nuclear-encoded microsatellite loci and mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences. Genetic diversity was low (microsatellite He<0.45; mtDNA π<0.0015), and both markers resolved two groups: one from the northern Mira drainage and one from the Arade and Bensafrim drainages. The relatively low differentiation between these groups (0.09