Vicariant Events (vicariant + event)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Distribution within Life Sciences


Selected Abstracts


VICARIANCE AND DISPERSAL ACROSS BAJA CALIFORNIA IN DISJUNCT MARINE FISH POPULATIONS

EVOLUTION, Issue 7 2003
Giacomo Bernardi
Abstract., Population disjunctions, as a first step toward complete allopatry, present an interesting situation to study incipient speciation. The geological formation of the Baja California Peninsula currently divides 19 species of fish into disjunct populations that are found on its Pacific Coast and in the northern part of the Gulf of California (also called the Sea of Cortez), but are absent from the Cape (Cabo San Lucas) region. We studied the genetic makeup of disjunct populations for 12 of these 19 fish species. Phylogeographic patterns for the 12 species can be separated into two major classes: a first group (eight species) showed reciprocal monophyly and high genetic divergence between disjunct populations. A second group (four species) displayed what appeared to be panmictic populations. Population structure between Pacific Coast populations, across the Punta Eugenia biogeographic boundary, was also evaluated. While dispersal potential (inferred by pelagic larval duration) was a poor predictor of population structure between Gulf of California and Pacific populations, we found that population genetic subdivision along the Pacific Coast at Punta Eugenia was always positively correlated with differentiation between Pacific and Gulf of California populations. Vicariant events, ongoing gene flow, and ecological characteristics played essential roles in shaping the population structures observed in this study. [source]


Genetic population structure of the net-winged midge, Elporia barnardi (Diptera: Blephariceridae) in streams of the south-western Cape, South Africa: implications for dispersal

FRESHWATER BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2003
M. J. Wishart
SUMMARY 1.,The net-winged midges (Diptera: Blephariceridae), with highly specific habitat requirements and specialised morphological adaptations, exhibit high habitat fidelity and a limited potential for dispersal. Given the longitudinal and hierarchical nature of lotic systems, along with the geological structure of catchment units, we hypothesise that populations of net-winged midge should exhibit a high degree of population sub-structuring. 2.,Sequence variation in the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) region of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was examined to determine patterns of genetic variation and infer historical and contemporary processes important in the genetic structuring of populations of Elporia barnardi. The DNA variation was examined at sites within streams, between streams in the same range, and between mountain ranges in the south-western Cape of South Africa. 3.,Twenty-five haplotypes, 641 bp in length, were identified from the 93 individuals sampled. A neighbour-joining tree revealed two highly divergent clades (,5%) corresponding to populations from the two mountain ranges. A number of monophyletic groups were identified within each clade, associated with individual catchment units. 4.,The distribution of genetic variation was examined using analysis of molecular variance (amova). This showed most of the variation to be distributed among the two ranges (,80%), with a small percentage (,15%) distributed among streams within each range. Similarly, variation among streams on Table Mountain was primarily distributed among catchment units (86%). A Mantel's test revealed a significant relationship between genetic differentiation and geographical distance, suggesting isolation by distance (P < 0.001). 5.,Levels of sequence divergence between the two major clades, representing the two mountain ranges, are comparable with those of some intra-generic species comparisons. Vicariant events, such as the isolation of the Peninsula mountain chain and Table Mountain, may have been important in the evolution of what is now a highly endemic fauna. 6.,The monophyletic nature of the catchment units suggests that dispersal is confined to the stream environment and that mountain ridges provide effective physical barriers to dispersal of E. barnardi. [source]


Geographic control on phenotype expression.

LETHAIA, Issue 3 2000
The case of Hybonoticeras mundulum (Oppel) from the Mexican Altiplano
Hybonoticeras mundulum (Oppel) (m) s.s. is reported from the Mexican Altiplano on the basis of material collected bed-by-bed in sections in the States of Durango and Zacatecas. The known range of this species in the Mexican Altiplano is interpreted to be uppermost Kimmeridgian (upper to uppermost Beckeri Zone) to lowermost Tithonian (basal to lower Hybonotum Zone). The Mexican specimens studied are the most complete and valuable collection of H. mundulum (Oppel) s.s. known from a given area, and reveal that Mexican populations show phenotypic features different from European ones. Vicariant events accord with data available about the areal and biostratigraphic distribution of this species, as well as with the combination of allocyclic and autocyclic factors influencing Mexican seas, the breaking of populations rather than colonization events, and the impoverished ammonite assemblages showing endemic traits within the stratigraphic interval studied. [source]


PHYLOGEOGRAPHY AND DEMOGRAPHY OF SYMPATRIC SISTER SURFPERCH SPECIES, EMBIOTOCA JACKSONI AND E. LATERALIS ALONG THE CALIFORNIA COAST: HISTORICAL VERSUS ECOLOGICAL FACTORS

EVOLUTION, Issue 2 2005
Glacomo Bernardi
Abstract With 18 closely related endemic species that radiated in a diversity of ecological niches, the California surfperches (Embiotocidae) species flock is a good candidate for the study of sympatric speciation. Resource partitioninghas been suggested as an important driving force in the radiation of the surfperch family. Within the family, two congeneric sister species, Embiotoca jacksoni and E. lateralis, are known to compete strongly for a preferred singleood resource and may be used as a model of ecological interactions for the family. Along the California coast, the distribution of the two species differs. Embiotoca jacksoni has a continuous range, whereas E. lateralis shows a disjunction with a distribution gap in the Southern California Bight. Two hypotheses may explain this disjunct distribution. Ecological competition may have displaced E. lateralis in favor of E. jacksoni. Alternatively, a common vicariant event may have separated the species into northern and southern populations, followed by secondary contactin E. jacksoni but not in E. lateralis. The two hypotheses predict different phylogeographic and demographic signatures. Using a combined phylogeographic and coalescent approach based on mitochondrial control region data, we show that vicariance can only account for a portion of the observed divergences. Our results are compatible with a significant role played by ecological competition in the southern range of the species. [source]


Historical biogeography of some river basins in central Mexico evidenced by their goodeine freshwater fishes: a preliminary hypothesis using secondary Brooks parsimony analysis

JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 8 2006
Omar Domínguez-Domínguez
Abstract Aims, Our aim was to uncover and describe patterns of historical biogeography of the main river basins in central Mexico, based on a secondary Brooks parsimony analysis (BPA) of goodeine fishes, and to understand the processes that determine them with respect to the molecular clock of the goodeines and the geological events that have taken place in the region since the Miocene. Location, The region covered in this study includes central Mexico, mostly the so-called Mesa Central of Mexico, an area argued to be a transitional zone comprising several major river drainages from their headwaters at high elevations along the Transmexican Volcanic Belt to the coast of the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. Methods, Based on a previous phylogenetic hypothesis regarding the Goodeidae, we built a data matrix using additive binary coding. First, we conducted a primary BPA to provide general explanations of the historical biogeography of Central Mexico. As ambiguity was found, a secondary BPA was conducted, and some areas were duplicated in order to explain the reticulated history of the area. Area cladograms were obtained by running a parsimony analysis. Instances of vicariance and non-vicariance processes were described with reference to the cladogram obtained from secondary BPA. Results, The study area was divided into 18 discrete regions. Primary BPA produced nine equally parsimonious cladograms with 129 steps, and a consistency index (CI) of 0.574. A strict consensus cladogram shows low resolution among some areas, but other area relationships are consistent. For secondary BPA, five of the 18 regions were duplicated (LEA, COT, AYU, CUT, PAN); one was triplicated (BAL); and one was quadruplicated (AME), suggesting that the pattern of distribution of species in these areas reflects multiple independent events. These areas correspond with the regions exhibiting the highest levels of diversification and the most complex geological history, and those for which river piracy events or basin connections have been proposed. The secondary BPA produced a single most parsimonious cladogram with 118 steps, and a CI of 0.858. This cladogram shows that none of the duplicated areas are nested together, reinforcing the idea of a reticulated history of the areas and not a single vicariant event. Main conclusions, Although our results are preliminary and we cannot establish this as a general pattern, as the BPA is based on a single-taxon cladogram, resolution obtained in the secondary BPA provides some insights regarding the historical biogeography of this group of fishes in river basins of central Mexico. Secondary BPA indicates that the historical biogeography of central Mexico, as shown by their goodeine freshwater fishes, is complex and is a result of a series of vicariant and non-vicariant events such as post-dispersal speciation and post-speciation dispersal. [source]


Biogeography and molecular phylogeny of the genus Schizothorax (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) in China inferred from cytochrome b sequences

JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 8 2006
Dekui He
Abstract Aim, To test a vicariant speciation hypothesis derived from geological evidence of large-scale changes in drainage patterns in the late Miocene that affected the drainages in the south-eastern Tibetan Plateau. Location, The Tibetan Plateau and adjacent areas. Methods, The cytochrome b DNA sequences of 30 species of the genus Schizothorax from nine different river systems were analysed. These DNA sequences were analysed using parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods. The approximately unbiased and Shimodaira,Hasegawa tests were applied to evaluate the statistical significance of the shortest trees relative to alternative hypotheses. Dates of divergences between lineages were estimated using the nonparametric rate smoothing method, and confidence intervals of dates were obtained by parametric bootstrapping. Results, The phylogenetic relationships recovered from molecular data were inconsistent with traditional taxonomy, but apparently reflected geographical associations with rivers. Within the genus Schizothorax, we observed a divergence between the lineages from the Irrawaddy,Lhuit and Tsangpo,Parlung rivers, and tentatively dated this vicariant event back to the late Miocene (7.3,6.8 Ma). We also observed approximately simultaneous geographical splits within drainages of the south-eastern Tibetan Plateau, the Irrawaddy, the Yangtze and the Mekong,Salween rivers in the late Miocene (7.1,6.2 Ma). Main conclusions, Our molecular evidence tentatively highlights the importance of palaeoriver connections and the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau in understanding the evolution of the genus Schizothorax. Molecular estimates of divergence times allowed us to date these vicariant scenarios back to the late Miocene, which agrees with geological suggestions for the separation of these drainages caused by tectonic uplift in south-eastern Tibet. Our results indicated the substantial role of vicariant-based speciation in shaping the current distribution pattern of the genus Schizothorax. [source]


New data on the distribution and genetic structure of Greek moles of the genus Talpa (Mammalia, Talpidae)

JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGICAL SYSTEMATICS AND EVOLUTIONARY RESEARCH, Issue 2 2010
G. A. Tryfonopoulos
Abstract In this work, we employed molecular markers and confirmed the occurrence of two mole species, Talpa stankovici and Talpa europaea in Greece. For the first species, all analyses revealed three major phylogroups, exhibiting great genetic divergence, possibly due to a vicariant event. This event was probably the Peloponnisos' insulation during the Pliocene and the following sea level fluctuations. A scenario of stable, large-sized populations for a long period rather than rapid growth from small-sized populations or founder events is supported. Additionally, T. stankovici's distribution area is extended to a southernmost limit. For T. europaea there is evidence of low genetic divergence between Greek and Central and North European populations. [source]


Phylogeography of the marine macroalga Sargassum hemiphyllum (Phaeophyceae, Heterokontophyta) in northwestern Pacific

MOLECULAR ECOLOGY, Issue 14 2010
CHI CHIU CHEANG
Abstract Sargassum hemiphyllum is commonly found in Japan and Korea, with a variety, var. chinense, that is found distributed in the southern Chinese coast. We previously reported distinct genetic differentiation between the two taxa based on the PCR-RFLP data of plastid RubiscoL-S spacer. The present study aims at elucidating the phylogeographic pattern of S. hemiphyllum based on more markers in the nuclear and extranuclear genomes, with a view to reveal the occurrence of hybridization. The two allopatrically distributed taxa were found to be genetically distinct in nuclear ITS2, plastidial Rubisco (Rbc) and mitochondrial TrnW_I (Trn) spacers. Their divergence was postulated to be attributable to the vicariant event which resulted from the isolation of the Sea of Japan during the late Miocene (6.58,11.25 Mya). Divergence within both S. hemiphyllum and the chinense variety was observed based on Trn spacer, while the divergence in S. hemiphyllum was further confirmed in Rbc spacer. This divergence appears to correspond to the separation of the Japanese populations between the Sea of Japan and the Pacific that occurred around 0.92,2.88 Mya (the early Pleistocene). The presence of an ITS2 clone resembling var. chinense sequences in a Japanese population of S. hemiphyllum (JpNS) raises the possibility of the introgression of var. chinense individuals into S. hemiphyllum population. Compared to that between S. hemiphyllum and the chinense variety, hybridization among the Japanese and Korean populations of S. hemiphyllum is highly probable as all these individuals share a pool of nuclear ITS2 sequences, possibly attributable to incomplete concerted evolution of ITS2. [source]


A prime inference on genetic diversity (RAPDs) in the marine fish Atherinella brasiliensis (Teleostei, Atherinopsidae) from Southern Brazil

ACTA ZOOLOGICA, Issue 2 2010
Maria Cristina Da Silva Cortinhas
Abstract Da Silva Cortinhas, M. C., Glienke, C., Prioli, A. J., Noleto, R. B., Matoso, D. A. and Cestari, M. M. 2010. A prime inference on genetic diversity (RAPDs) in the marine fish Atherinella brasiliensis (Teleostei, Atherinopsidae) from Southern Brazil. ,Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) 91: 242,248 As a result of the importance of Atherinella brasiliensis in estuarine environments, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers were used to verify the genetic diversity in A. brasiliensis from two different places in Paranaguá Bay (Paraná State) and one from the Conceição Lagoon (Santa Catarina State). Cytogenetic data have shown a high karyotypic diversity in some populations, although in others this peculiarity demonstrates rearrangements such as heterochromatinization. In the present study, a low level of genetic structuring between the samples from Conceição Lagoon compared with the others was observed through principal coordinate analysis (PCO), analysis of molecular variance and Mantel test according to 79 RAPD markers. As this specie does not perform horizontal migration and the individuals of Conceição Lagoon are isolated, three hypotheses are proposed to explain the results: (i) similar environments may show homogeneous populations not depending on the geographical distance, (ii) because vicariant events that formed the bays occurred in a recent period, the fragmentation effects over the structuring of the genetic diversity may still be low and not totally detectable by the RAPD technique and (iii) the isolation time or the number of generations may not be enough to promote a possible differentiation and genetic structuring between the specimens of these three places. The specimens of these places present a low level of differentiation and genetic structuring so we can consider them as a unique homogeneous population. [source]


Taxonomic diversity gradients through geological time

DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS, Issue 4 2001
J. Alistair Crame
Abstract., There is evidence from the fossil record to suggest that latitudinal gradients in taxonomic diversity may be time-invariant features, although almost certainly not on the same scale as that seen at the present day. It is now apparent that both latitudinal and longitudinal gradients increased dramatically in strength through the Cenozoic era (i.e. the last 65 my) to become more pronounced today than at any time in the geological past. Present-day taxonomic diversity gradients, in both the marine and terrestrial realms, are underpinned by the tropical radiations of a comparatively small number of species-rich clades. Quite why these particular taxa proliferated through the Cenozoic is uncertain, but it could be that at least part of the explanation involves the phenomenon of evolutionary escalation. This is, in essence, a theory of biological diversification through evolutionary feedback mechanisms between predators and prey; first one develops an adaptive advantage, and then the other. However, there may also have been some form of extrinsic control on the process of tropical diversification, and this was most likely centred on the phenomenon of global climate change. This is especially so over the last 15 my Various Late Cenozoic (Neogene) vicariant events effectively partitioned the tropics into a series of high diversity centres, or foci. It has been suggested that, in the largest of these in the marine realm (the Indo-West Pacific or IWP centre), a critical patterns of islands acted as a template for rapid speciation during glacioeustatic sea level cycles. The same process occurred in the Atlantic, Caribbean and East Pacific (ACEP) centre, though on a lesser scale. Tropical terrestrial diversity may also have been promoted by rapid range expansions and contractions in concert with glacial cycles (a modified refugium hypothesis). We are beginning to appreciate that an integrated sequence of Neogene tectonic and climatic events greatly influenced the formation of contemporary taxonomic diversity patterns. [source]


Historical biogeography and distribution of the freshwater cyclopine copepods (Copepoda, Cyclopoida, Cyclopinae) of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 7 2004
Eduardo Suárez-Morales
Abstract Aim, To determine and analyse the distribution of the freshwater cyclopine copepod fauna of the Yucatan Peninsula (YP) and its relationship with the geological and climatic history of this Neotropical karstic zone. Location, The Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Methods, Plotting of georeferenced sites, analysis of local and regional geological and climatic history, analysis and comparison of regional and local faunistic records. Results, Distinct dispersal and/or vicariant processes seem to be linked to the current distributions of the seven genera known in the YP. In general, the endemic hypogean or benthic crevicular forms (i.e. Diacyclops chakan, D. puuc and Mesocyclops chaci), derived from epigean, tropical, widely distributed forms (some of them South American) may have been among the earliest colonizers of the subterranean habitats in the YP. The distribution of these and other endemic forms seem to be related to the Holocene dry periods that desiccated the largest bodies of water and isolated local populations of different species. These vicariant processes resulted in forms with restricted distributional areas; some of these formed sister species that speciated in geographically close localities but related to a common identifiable ancestor. Overall, the processes of cyclopine colonization of the YP show the influence of the South American fauna, as the closest relatives of some species endemic to the YP are South American forms; the Nearctic influence is low. The cyclopine fauna of the YP is formed by a mixture of Nearctic-derived (species of Acanthocyclops), Neotropical (i.e. M. edax, M. longisetus, A. panamensis, Thermocyclops inversus and T. tenuis), and epigean and hypogean endemic forms. The highly dynamic geomorphology of the YP and the recent climatic changes in the Holocene define the YP as a peculiar subregion that harbours a diverse fauna of cyclopine copepods with a high endemism. Main conclusion, The current distribution of cyclopine copepods reflects relatively recent, post-Pliocene biogeographical patterns; probably older patterns are involved as well. The eastern coast of the Yucatan is the most recently colonized by cyclopine copepods. Most of the genera are linked with South American forms, and the Nearctic influence is weakly represented. This group has no marine relatives, but there is evidence of vicariant events involving cave-dwelling forms. [source]


Phylogeography of the northern hogsucker, Hypentelium nigricans (Teleostei: Cypriniformes): genetic evidence for the existence of the ancient Teays River

JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 8 2003
Peter B. Berendzen
Abstract Aim, To assess the roles of dispersal and vicariance in shaping the present distribution and diversity within Hypentelium nigricans, the northern hogsucker (Teleostei: Cypriniformes). Location, Eastern United States. Methods, Parsimony analyses, Bayesian analyses, pairwise genetic divergence and mismatch plots are used to examine patterns of genetic variation across H. nigricans. Results, Species relationships within the genus Hypentelium were consistent with previous hypotheses. However, relationships between haplotypes within H. nigricans revealed two deeply divergent groups, a clade containing haplotypes from the New and Roanoke rivers (Atlantic Slope) plus Interior Highlands and upper Mississippi River and a clade containing haplotypes from the Eastern Highlands, previously glaciated regions of the Ohio and Wabash rivers, and the Amite and Homochitto rivers of south-western Mississippi. Main conclusions, The phylogenetic history of Hypentelium was shaped by old vicariant events associated with erosion of the Blue Ridge and separation of the Mobile and Mississippi river basins. Within H. nigricans two clades existed prior to the Pleistocene; a widespread clade in the pre-glacial Teays-Mississippi River system and a clade in Cumberland and Tennessee rivers. Pleistocene events fragmented the Teays-Mississippi fauna. Following the retreat of the glaciers H. nigricans dispersed northward into previously glaciated regions. These patterns are replicated in other clades of fishes and are consistent with some of the predictions of Mayden's (Systematic Zoology, 37, 329, 1988) pre-Pleistocene vicariance hypothesis. [source]


Establishing a perimeter position: speciation around the Indian Ocean Basin

JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2008
G. VOELKER
Abstract Historical biological interactions among peripheral landmasses on the periphery of the Indian Ocean Basin (IOB) are generally poorly understood. While interactions based on early Gondwanan vicariance have been used to explain present day lineage distributions, several recent studies have instead inferred dispersal across the IOB. This inference is often advanced because lineages under study have species inhabiting IOB islands. Here we examine the roles of continental vicariance vs. trans-IOB dispersal in the distribution of an avian genus found around the perimeter of the IOB. A molecular phylogeny does reveal evidence of a relationship that would require the inference of trans-IOB dispersal between eastern Africa and Sri Lanka. However, molecular clock data, ancestral area analyses and paleoclimatic reconstructions suggest that vicariance related to tropical forest expansion and retraction is more likely to have facilitated African,Asian interchange, with an initial colonization of Africa from Asia quickly followed by a recolonization of Asia. Subsequent dispersal from Asia to Sri Lanka and islands east of the Sunda Shelf are inferred; these latter islands were colonized in a stepping-stone fashion that culminated in colonization of the Sunda Shelf, and a recolonization of mainland Asia. We propose that circum-IOB distributions, which post-date early Gondwanan breakup, are most likely the result of continent-based vicariant events, particularly those events related to large-scale habitat alterations, and not trans-IOB dispersals. [source]


Phylogeography of the bigeye chub Hybopsis amblops (Teleostei: Cypriniformes): early Pleistocene diversification and post-glacial range expansion

JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY, Issue 8 2008
P. B. Berendzen
The bigeye chub, Hybopsis amblops, is a member of the Central Highlands ichthyofauna of eastern North America. Phylogenetic analyses of the H. amblops species group based on a 1059 bp fragment of the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b gene did not recover a monophyletic group. The inclusion of Hybopsis hypsinotus in the species complex is questionable. Within H. amblops, five strongly supported clades were identified; two clades containing haplotypes from the Ozark Highlands and three clades containing haplotypes from the Eastern Highlands and previously glaciated regions of the Ohio and Wabash River drainages. Estimates of the timing of divergence indicated that prior to the onset of glaciation, vicariant events separated populations east and west of the Mississippi River. East of the Mississippi River glacial cycles associated with the blocking and rerouting of the Teays River system caused populations to be pushed southward into refugia of the upper Ohio River. Following the most recent Wisconsinan glaciation, populations expanded northward into previously glaciated regions and southward into the Cumberland River drainage. In the Ozarks, west of the Mississippi River, isolation of clades appears to be maintained by the lack of stream capture events between the upper Arkansas and the White River systems and a barrier formed by the Arkansas River. [source]


The discordance of diversification: evolution in the tropical-montane frogs of the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania

MOLECULAR ECOLOGY, Issue 18 2010
LUCINDA P. LAWSON
Abstract Species with similar geographical distribution patterns are often assumed to have a shared biogeographical history, an assumption that can be tested with a combination of molecular, spatial, and environmental data. This study investigates three lineages of Hyperolius frogs with concordant ranges within the Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspot to determine whether allopatric populations of co-distributed lineages shared a parallel biogeographical response to their shared paleoclimatic histories. The roles of refugial distributions, isolation, and climate cycles in shaping their histories are examined through Hierarchical Approximate Bayesian Computation, comparative phylogeography, and comparisons of current and past geographical distributions using ecological niche models. Results from these analyses show these three lineages to have independent evolutionary histories, which current spatial configurations of sparsely available habitat (montane wetlands) have moulded into convergent geographical ranges. In spite of independent phylogeographical histories, diversification events are temporally concentrated, implying that past vicariant events were significant at the generic level. This mixture of apparently disparate histories is likely due to quantifiably different patterns of expansion and retreat among species in response to past climate cycles. Combining climate modelling and phylogeographical data can reveal unrecognized complexities in the evolution of co-distributed taxa. [source]


Comparative phylogeography of two coastal polychaete tubeworms in the Northeast Atlantic supports shared history and vicariant events

MOLECULAR ECOLOGY, Issue 7 2006
M. T. JOLLY
Abstract The historic processes which have led to the present-day patterns of genetic structure in the marine coastal fauna of the Northeast Atlantic are still poorly understood. While tectonic uplifts and changes in sea level may have caused large-scale vicariance, warmer conditions during glacial maxima may have allowed pockets of diversity to persist to a much wider extent than in the Northwestern Atlantic. The large-scale geographic distribution of deeply divergent lineages of the coastal polychaete tubeworms Pectinaria koreni (two clades) and Owenia fusiformis (three clades) were compared using a fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene (mtCOI). All lineages were present along the biogeographic transition zone on the north coast of Brittany (France) and we found evidence pointing towards congruence in the timing of cladogenic events between Pectinaria sp. (P. auricoma/P. belgica and P. koreni) and Owenia sp., suggesting a shared history of vicariant events. More conserved 16SrRNA sequences obtained from four species of Pectinariidae together with mtCOI sequences of P. koreni seem consistent with an initial establishment of pectinariids in the north, and a southward colonization of the Northeast Atlantic. Phylogeographic patterns in O. fusiformis were also consistent with a north/south pattern of lineage splitting and congruent levels of divergence were detected between lineages of both species. We observed signatures of both persistence in small northern glacial refugia, and of northwards range expansion from regions situated closer to the Mediterranean. However, whether the recolonization of the Northeast Atlantic by both species actually reflects separate interglacial periods is unclear with regards to the lack of molecular clock calibration in coastal polychaete species. [source]


Cryptic Neogene vicariance and Quaternary dispersal of the red-spotted toad (Bufo punctatus): insights on the evolution of North American warm desert biotas

MOLECULAR ECOLOGY, Issue 10 2005
JEF R. JAEGER
Abstract We define the geographical distributions of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) lineages embedded within a broadly distributed, arid-dwelling toad, Bufo punctatus. These patterns were evaluated as they relate to hypothesized vicariant events leading to the formation of desert biotas within western North America. We assessed mtDNA sequence variation among 191 samples from 82 sites located throughout much of the species' range. Parsimony-based haplotype networks of major identified lineages were used in nested clade analysis (NCA) to further elucidate and evaluate shallow phylogeographic patterns potentially associated with Quaternary (Pleistocene,Holocene) vicariance and dispersal. Phylogenetic analyses provided strong support for three monophyletic lineages (clades) within B. punctatus. The geographical distributions of the clades showed little overlap and corresponded to the general boundaries of the Peninsular Desert, and two continental desert regions, Eastern (Chihuahuan Desert,Colorado Plateau) and Western (Mojave,Sonoran deserts), geographically separated along the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Madre Occidental. The observed divergence levels and congruence with postulated events in earth history implicate a late Neogene (latest Miocene,early Pliocene) time frame for separation of the major mtDNA lineages. Evaluation of nucleotide and haplotype diversity and interpretations from NCA reveal that populations on the Colorado Plateau resulted from a recent, likely post-Pleistocene, range expansion from the Chihuahuan Desert. Dispersal across historical barriers separating major continental clades appear to be recent, resulting in secondary contacts in at least two areas. Given the observed contact between major clades, we speculated as to why the observed deep phylogeographic structure has not been eroded during the multiple previous interglacials of the Pleistocene. [source]