title: Multiple evolutionary units and demographic stability during the last glacial maximum in the Scytalopus speluncae complex (Aves: Rhinocryptidae).
abstract: The Atlantic Forest (AF) of South America harbors one of the world's highest bird species richness, but to date there is a deficient understanding of the spatial patterns of genetic diversity and the evolutionary history of this biome. Here we estimated the phylogenetic and populational history of the widespread Mouse-colored Tapaculo (Scytalopus speluncae) complex across the Brazilian AF, using data from two mitochondrial genes and 12 microsatellite loci. Both markers uncovered several cryptic, mostly allopatric and well-supported lineages that may represent distinct species-level taxa. We investigated whether diversification in S. speluncae is compatible with the Carnaval-Moritz model of Pleistocene refugia. We found that northern lineages have high levels of genetic diversity, agreeing with predictions of more stable forest refugia in these areas. In contrast, southern lineages have lower levels of mtDNA diversity with a signature of population expansion that occurred earlier (∼0.2Mya) than the last glacial maximum. This result suggests that the AF may be stable enough to maintain endemic taxa through glacial cycles. Moreover, we propose that the "mid-Pleistocene climate transition" between 1.2 and 0.7million years ago, from a warmer to a colder climate, may have played an important but mostly overlooked role in the evolution of AF montane taxa.
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Biociências, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Ipiranga, 6681, CEP 90619-900 Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Electronic address: p.pulidosantacruz@mail.utoronto.ca.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pulido-Santacruz
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, CEP 81531-980 Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil; Mater Natura - Instituto de Estudos Ambientais, Rua Lamenha Lins 1080, CEP 80250-020 Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil. Electronic address: bornschein.marcao@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Marcos Ricardo
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Bornschein
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, CEP 81531-980 Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil; Mater Natura - Instituto de Estudos Ambientais, Rua Lamenha Lins 1080, CEP 80250-020 Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil. Electronic address: rbelmonte.lopes@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Belmonte-Lopes
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Biociências, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Ipiranga, 6681, CEP 90619-900 Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Electronic address: slbonatto@pucrs.br.
authors.forename: Sandro L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Bonatto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D001938:Brazil; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000235:genetics; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D003710:Demography; D065928:Forests; D005828:Genetics, Population; D005843:Geography; D046448:Ice Cover; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats / Q000235:genetics; D046109:Passeriformes / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial
keywords: Divergence times; Montane taxa; Phylogenetics; Population demography; Refuge model