DNA Barcoding versus Morphological Variability of (Kirby, 1837) (Coleoptera, Carabidae) in the Arctic and Subarctic.

The geographic patterns of genetic and morphological variability in ground beetles were examined throughout Northern Eurasia and North America using the most abundant circumpolar tundra subspecies, (Kirby, 1837), as a model. Phylogenetic structure was assessed on the basis of a Bayesian approach using two DNA markers (partial sequences of the COI and 28S rRNA genes), while phylogeographic patterns and population genetic diversity were estimated using the COI gene only. Morphological patterns were analysed using elliptical Fourier coefficients that were calculated based on the pronotum and male genitalia shape outlines.