Carabus (Chrysocarabus) auronitens cupreonitens Chevrolat 1861 is considered a subspecies of Carabus auronitens. It is protected under the french law and a conservation area has been created in 1976 in Normandie (Réserve Naturelle Nationale de Cerisy) for its protection. So far, in the conservation area, all individuals were metallic dark blue, the characteristic coloration of the subspecies. However since 2013, people in charge of forest management in France (ONF) have noticed that some individuals presented a more green copper phenotype typical of C. auronitens auronitens, without knowing whether these individuals were deliberately introduced to the conservation area or if they arrived by migration from surrounding forests. A possible consequence of this colonisation would be the extinction of the subspecies C. auronitens cupreonitens through introgression.  In collaboration with people working for the ONF (Sébastien Etienne), we propose to analyse the genetic structure of the subspecies and detect potential introgression with C. auronitens auronitens using RAD markers in the conservation area and surrounding areas. 

People Involved : A. Cruaud, J.-Y Rasplus, L. Sauné

Project founded by the ONF