title: Patterns of genetic diversity in three plant lineages endemic to the Cape Verde Islands.
abstract: Conservation of plant diversity on islands relies on a good knowledge of the taxonomy, distribution and genetic diversity of species. In recent decades, a combination of morphology- and DNA-based approaches has become the standard for investigating island plant lineages and this has led, in some cases, to the discovery of previously overlooked diversity, including 'cryptic species'. The flora of the Cape Verde archipelago in the North Atlantic is currently thought to comprise ∼740 vascular plant species, 92 of them endemics. Despite the fact that it is considered relatively well known, there has been a 12 % increase in the number of endemics in the last two decades. Relatively few of the Cape Verde plant lineages have been included in genetic studies so far and little is known about the patterns of diversification in the archipelago. Here we present an updated list for the endemic Cape Verde flora and analyse diversity patterns for three endemic plant lineages (Cynanchum, Globularia and Umbilicus) based on one nuclear (ITS) and four plastid DNA regions. In all three lineages, we find genetic variation. In Cynanchum, we find two distinct haplotypes with no clear geographical pattern, possibly reflecting different ploidy levels. In Globularia and Umbilicus, differentiation is evident between populations from northern and southern islands. Isolation and drift resulting from the small and fragmented distributions, coupled with the significant distances separating the northern and southern islands, could explain this pattern. Overall, our study suggests that the diversity in the endemic vascular flora of Cape Verde is higher than previously thought and further work is necessary to characterize the flora.
authors.affiliation: Biosystems and Integrative Sciences Institute (BioISI), Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, Campo Grande 1749-016, Lisbon, Portugal Tropical Research Institute (IICT/JBT), Trav. Conde da Ribeira 9, 1300-142 Lisbon, Portugal mromeiras@yahoo.co.uk.
authors.forename: Maria M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Romeiras
authors.affiliation: Biosystems and Integrative Sciences Institute (BioISI), Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, Campo Grande 1749-016, Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: Filipa
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Monteiro
authors.affiliation: Tropical Research Institute (IICT/JBT), Trav. Conde da Ribeira 9, 1300-142 Lisbon, Portugal Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources (CIBIO/InBIO), University of Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal.
authors.forename: M Cristina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Duarte
authors.affiliation: Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Biodiversitaet der Pflanzen, D-85354 Freising, Germany.
authors.forename: Hanno
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schaefer
authors.affiliation: Plants Division, Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Carine
keywords: Cynanchum; DNA barcoding; Globularia; Macaronesian Islands; Umbilicus; multi-island endemics (MIEs)