Phylogeography ofArenaria balearicaL. (Caryophyllaceae): evolutionary history of a disjunct endemic from the Western Mediterranean continental islands.
Although it has been traditionally accepted thatArenaria balearica(Caryophyllaceae) could be a relict Tertiary plant species, this has never been experimentally tested. Nor have the palaeohistorical reasons underlying the highly fragmented distribution of the species in the Western Mediterranean region been investigated. We have analysed AFLP data (213) and plastid DNA sequences (226) from a total of 250 plants from 29 populations sampled throughout the entire distribution range of the species in Majorca, Corsica, Sardinia, and the Tuscan Archipelago. The AFLP data analyses indicate very low geographic structure and population differentiation. Based on plastid DNA data, six alternative phylogeographic hypotheses were tested using Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC). These analyses revealed ancient area fragmentation as the most probable scenario, which is in accordance with the star-like topology of the parsimony network that suggests a pattern of long term survival and subsequentin situdifferentiation. Overall low levels of genetic diversity and plastid DNA variation were found, reflecting evolutionary stasis of a species preserved in locally long-term stable habitats.
Department of Botany, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain; Biobanco de ADN Vegetal, Banco Nacional de ADN, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain.
Javier
J
Bobo-Pinilla
Department of Botany, University of Salamanca , Salamanca , Spain.
Sara B
SB
Barrios de León
Department of Terrestrial Ecology, Instituto Mediterráneo de Estudios Avanzados (IMEDEA) , Esporles , Spain.
Jaume
J
Seguí Colomar
Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, University of Roma "La Sapienza" , Roma , Italy.
Giuseppe
G
Fenu
Centro Conservazione Biodiversità (CCB), Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e dell'Ambiente, University of Cagliari , Cagliari , Italy.
Gianluigi
G
Bacchetta
Department of Botany, University of Granada , Granada , Spain.
Julio
J
Peñas de Giles
Department of Botany, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain; Biobanco de ADN Vegetal, Banco Nacional de ADN, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain.
María Montserrat
MM
Martínez-Ortega
AFLP; Arenaria; Hercynian; Island evolution; Mediterranean; Phylogeography; Plastid DNA; Stasis