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Giant tortoises are not so slow: rapid diversification and biogeographic consensus in the Galapagos.

ABSTRACT: Isolated oceanic archipelagos have played a major role in the development of evolutionary theory by offering a unique setting for studying spatial and temporal patterns of biological diversification. However, the evolutionary events that cause associations between genetic variation and geography in archipelago radiations are largely unknown. This finding is especially true in the Galápagos Islands, where molecular studies have revealed conflicting biogeographic patterns. Here, we elucidate the history of diversification of giant Galápagos tortoises by using mtDNA sequences from 802 individuals representing all known extant populations. We test biogeographic predictions based on geological history and assess the roles of volcano emergence and island formation in driving evolutionary diversification. Patterns of colonization and lineage sorting appear highly consistent with the chronological formation of the archipelago. Populations from older islands are composed exclusively of endemic haplotypes that define divergent monophyletic clades. Younger populations, although currently differentiated, exhibit patterns of colonization, demographic variation and genetic interchange shaped by recent volcanism. Colonization probably occurs shortly after a volcano emerges through range expansion from older volcanoes. Volcanism can also create temporal shifts from historical to recurrent events, such as promoting gene flow by creating land bridges between isolated volcanoes. The association of spatial and temporal patterns of genetic variation with geophysical aspects of the environment can best be attributed to the limited dispersal and migration of tortoises following an oceanographic current. The endangered giant Galápagos tortoises represent a rapid allopatric radiation and further exemplify evolutionary processes in one of the world's greatest natural laboratories of evolution.

SUBMITTER: Beheregaray LB

PROVIDER: S-EPMC404076 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Giant tortoises are not so slow: rapid diversification and biogeographic consensus in the Galápagos.

Beheregaray Luciano B LB Gibbs James P JP Havill Nathan N Fritts Thomas H TH Powell Jeffrey R JR Caccone Adalgisa A

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20040414 17

Isolated oceanic archipelagos have played a major role in the development of evolutionary theory by offering a unique setting for studying spatial and temporal patterns of biological diversification. However, the evolutionary events that cause associations between genetic variation and geography in archipelago radiations are largely unknown. This finding is especially true in the Galápagos Islands, where molecular studies have revealed conflicting biogeographic patterns. Here, we elucidate the h ...[more]

PMID: 15084743

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Project description:Long-term population history can influence the genetic effects of recent bottlenecks. Therefore, for threatened or endangered species, an understanding of the past is relevant when formulating conservation strategies. Levels of variation at neutral markers have been useful for estimating local effective population sizes (N e ) and inferring whether population sizes increased or decreased over time. Furthermore, analyses of genotypic, allelic frequency, and phylogenetic information can potentially be used to separate historical from recent demographic changes. For 15 populations of Galápagos giant tortoises (Chelonoidis sp.), we used 12 microsatellite loci and DNA sequences from the mitochondrial control region and a nuclear intron, to reconstruct demographic history on shallow (past ?100 generations, ?2500 years) and deep (pre-Holocene, >10 thousand years ago) timescales. At the deep timescale, three populations showed strong signals of growth, but with different magnitudes and timing, indicating different underlying causes. Furthermore, estimated historical N e of populations across the archipelago showed no correlation with island age or size, underscoring the complexity of predicting demographic history a priori. At the shallow timescale, all populations carried some signature of a genetic bottleneck, and for 12 populations, point estimates of contemporary N e were very small (i.e., < 50). On the basis of the comparison of these genetic estimates with published census size data, N e generally represented ?0.16 of the census size. However, the variance in this ratio across populations was considerable. Overall, our data suggest that idiosyncratic and geographically localized forces shaped the demographic history of tortoise populations. Furthermore, from a conservation perspective, the separation of demographic events occurring on shallow versus deep timescales permits the identification of naturally rare versus newly rare populations; this distinction should facilitate prioritization of management action.

Dataset Information

Giant tortoises are not so slow: rapid diversification and biogeographic consensus in the Galapagos.

Publications

Giant tortoises are not so slow: rapid diversification and biogeographic consensus in the Galápagos.

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