title: Up and Down the Blind Alley: Population Divergence with Scant Gene Flow in an Endangered Tropical Lineage of Andean Palms (Ceroxylon quindiuense Clade: Ceroxyloideae).
abstract: Given the geographical complexity of the Andes, species distributions hold interesting information regarding the history of isolation and gene flow across geographic barriers and ecological gradients. Moreover, current threats to the region's enormous plant diversity pose an additional challenge to the understanding of these patterns. We explored the geographic structure of genetic diversity within the Ceroxylon quindiuense species complex (wax palms) at a regional scale, using a model-based approach to disentangle the historical mechanisms by which these species have dispersed over a range encompassing 17° of latitude in the tropical Andes. A total of 10 microsatellite loci were cross-amplified in 8 populations of the 3 species comprising the C. quindiuense complex. Analyses performed include estimates of molecular diversity and genetic structure, testing for genetic bottlenecks and an evaluation of the colonization scenario under approximate Bayesian computation. We showed that there was a geographical diversity gradient reflecting the orogenetic pattern of the northern Andes and its end at the cordilleras facing the Caribbean Sea. A general pattern of diversity suggests that the cordilleras of Colombia have served as historical recipients of gene flow occurring only scantly along the northern Andes. We provided evidence of important isolation between the largest populations of this complex, suggesting that both historical constraints to dispersal but also current anthropogenic effects might explain the high levels of population structuring. We provide a list of advisable measures for conservation stakeholders.
authors.affiliation: From the Universidad CES, Calle 10 A No. 22 - 04Medellín, Colombia (Sanín); Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia (Galeano); Agrobiodiversity Research Area, International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Cali, Colombia (Zapata, Bohórquez, and Tohme); Institut de Recherche pour le Développement IRD-CIRAD, TA A51/PS2, Montpellier cedex 5, France (Pintaud); and Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark (Hansen).
authors.forename: María José
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Sanín
authors.affiliation: From the Universidad CES, Calle 10 A No. 22 - 04Medellín, Colombia (Sanín); Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia (Galeano); Agrobiodiversity Research Area, International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Cali, Colombia (Zapata, Bohórquez, and Tohme); Institut de Recherche pour le Développement IRD-CIRAD, TA A51/PS2, Montpellier cedex 5, France (Pintaud); and Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark (Hansen).
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zapata
authors.affiliation: From the Universidad CES, Calle 10 A No. 22 - 04Medellín, Colombia (Sanín); Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia (Galeano); Agrobiodiversity Research Area, International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Cali, Colombia (Zapata, Bohórquez, and Tohme); Institut de Recherche pour le Développement IRD-CIRAD, TA A51/PS2, Montpellier cedex 5, France (Pintaud); and Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark (Hansen).
authors.forename: Jean-Christophe
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Pintaud
authors.affiliation: From the Universidad CES, Calle 10 A No. 22 - 04Medellín, Colombia (Sanín); Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia (Galeano); Agrobiodiversity Research Area, International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Cali, Colombia (Zapata, Bohórquez, and Tohme); Institut de Recherche pour le Développement IRD-CIRAD, TA A51/PS2, Montpellier cedex 5, France (Pintaud); and Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark (Hansen).
authors.forename: Gloria
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Galeano
authors.affiliation: From the Universidad CES, Calle 10 A No. 22 - 04Medellín, Colombia (Sanín); Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia (Galeano); Agrobiodiversity Research Area, International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Cali, Colombia (Zapata, Bohórquez, and Tohme); Institut de Recherche pour le Développement IRD-CIRAD, TA A51/PS2, Montpellier cedex 5, France (Pintaud); and Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark (Hansen).
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bohórquez
authors.affiliation: From the Universidad CES, Calle 10 A No. 22 - 04Medellín, Colombia (Sanín); Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia (Galeano); Agrobiodiversity Research Area, International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Cali, Colombia (Zapata, Bohórquez, and Tohme); Institut de Recherche pour le Développement IRD-CIRAD, TA A51/PS2, Montpellier cedex 5, France (Pintaud); and Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark (Hansen).
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tohme
authors.affiliation: From the Universidad CES, Calle 10 A No. 22 - 04Medellín, Colombia (Sanín); Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia (Galeano); Agrobiodiversity Research Area, International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Cali, Colombia (Zapata, Bohórquez, and Tohme); Institut de Recherche pour le Développement IRD-CIRAD, TA A51/PS2, Montpellier cedex 5, France (Pintaud); and Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark (Hansen).
authors.forename: Michael Møller
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Hansen
mesh_terms: D028023:Arecaceae / Q000235:genetics; D056727:Endangered Species; D051456:Gene Flow; D011157:Population Dynamics
keywords: endangered species; genetic diversity; migration; phylogeography; tropical Andes; wax palms