Genetic Diversity and Structure in Korean Populations of Sympetrum darwinianum and S. eroticum eroticum (Odonata : Lebellulidae)

The levels of genetic diversity and structure in Korean populations of Sympetrum darwinianum (SELYS, 1883) and S. eroticum eroticum (SELYS, 1883) were examined. Starch gel electrophoresis was conducted on 343 individuals in eight populations of the two species. Electrophoretic data revealed that the two species exhibit considerably higher levels of genetic variation than those of most other insects. Expected mean population heterozygosity (He, 0.361 vs. 0.333) and percent polymorphic loci (P, 81.5% vs. 87.2%) found in S. darwinianum were very comparable to those for S. eroticum eroticum. Analyses of WRIGHT's fixation indices, calculated for all polymorphic loci across populations in each species, indicated that, overall, a near conformance of genotype frequencies to Hardy-Weinberg expectations, suggesting that mating was nearly panmictic. The results indicated that the two species might have very similar phylogenetic histories, and/or ecological and life history traits.