Dataset Information

Extreme genetic diversity in the lizard Atlantolacerta andreanskyi (Werner, 1929): a montane cryptic species complex.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Atlantolacerta andreanskyi is an enigmatic lacertid lizard that, according to the most recent molecular analyses, belongs to the tribe Eremiadini, family Lacertidae. It is a mountain specialist, restricted to areas above 2400 m of the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco with apparently no connection between the different populations. In order to investigate its phylogeography, 92 specimens of A. andreanskyi were analyzed from eight different populations across the distribution range of the species for up to 1108 base pairs of mitochondrial DNA (12S, ND4 and flanking tRNA-His) and 2585 base pairs of nuclear DNA including five loci (PDC, ACM4, C-MOS, RAG1, MC1R). RESULTS:The results obtained with both concatenated and coalescent approaches and clustering methods, clearly show that all the populations analyzed present a very high level of genetic differentiation for the mitochondrial markers used and are also generally differentiated at the nuclear level. CONCLUSIONS:These results indicate that A. andreanskyi is an additional example of a montane species complex.

SUBMITTER: Barata M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3492105 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Extreme genetic diversity in the lizard Atlantolacerta andreanskyi (Werner, 1929): a montane cryptic species complex.

Barata Mafalda M Carranza Salvador S Harris D James DJ

BMC evolutionary biology 20120904

<h4>Background</h4>Atlantolacerta andreanskyi is an enigmatic lacertid lizard that, according to the most recent molecular analyses, belongs to the tribe Eremiadini, family Lacertidae. It is a mountain specialist, restricted to areas above 2400 m of the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco with apparently no connection between the different populations. In order to investigate its phylogeography, 92 specimens of A. andreanskyi were analyzed from eight different populations across the distribution ran ...[more]

PMID: 22946997

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Project description:AimBeta diversity describes the variation in species composition between sites and can be used to infer why different species occupy different parts of the globe. It can be viewed in a number of ways. First, it can be partitioned into two distinct patterns: turnover and nestedness. Second, it can be investigated from either a species identity or a functional-trait point of view. We aim to document for the first time how these two aspects of beta diversity vary in response to a large environmental gradient.LocationMaloti-Drakensberg Mountains, southern Africa.MethodsWe sampled ant assemblages along an extensive elevational gradient (900-3000 m a.s.l.) twice yearly for 7 years, and collected functional-trait information related to the species' dietary and habitat-structure preferences. We used recently developed methods to partition species and functional beta diversity into their turnover and nestedness components. A series of null models were used to test whether the observed beta diversity patterns differed from random expectations.ResultsSpecies beta diversity was driven by turnover, but functional beta diversity was composed of both turnover and nestedness patterns at different parts of the gradient. Null models revealed that deterministic processes were likely to be responsible for the species patterns but that the functional changes were indistinguishable from stochasticity.Main conclusionsDifferent ant species are found with increasing elevation, but they tend to represent an increasingly nested subset of the available functional strategies. This finding is unique and narrows down the list of possible factors that control ant existence across elevation. We conclude that diet and habitat preferences have little role in structuring ant assemblages in montane environments and that some other factor must be driving the non-random patterns of species turnover. This finding also highlights the importance of distinguishing between different kinds of beta diversity.

Dataset Information

Extreme genetic diversity in the lizard Atlantolacerta andreanskyi (Werner, 1929): a montane cryptic species complex.

Publications

Extreme genetic diversity in the lizard Atlantolacerta andreanskyi (Werner, 1929): a montane cryptic species complex.

Similar Datasets

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