Single-sample estimation of effective population size in several populations of the endangered Hine’s emerald dragonfly

AbstractHine’s emerald dragonfly (Somatochlora hineana) is the only odonate on the US Endangered Species list. It prefers discrete fen-and-wet-meadow habitat from Ontario, Canada, to Missouri, USA. This habitat has been destroyed across much of S. hineana’s range. Its conservation genetics were assessed by microsatellite analysis in a previous study. We applied 2 common single-sample estimators to the same data set to estimate effective population size (Ne), or effective number of breeders, in 5 populations (separated into adult and naiad stage classes) across the species’ range in 2008 and 2010–2011. Populations of the species in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the Door Peninsula of Wisconsin, and along the Des Plaines River Valley in Illinois are made up of individuals collected from multiple sites, but the other 2 populations, at Cedarburg Bog, Wisconsin, and along the Lower Wisconsin River, consist of samples from single habitats disjunct from other known sites. Ne for S. hineana were similar to thos...