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The uneven distribution of refugial endemics across the European Alps suggests a threefold role of climate in speciation of refugial populations
A little more than 10% of the vascular plant flora native to the European Alps is endemic to this area. It has long been noticed that the distribution of endemics across the Alps is very uneven. While most endemics are found along the southern edge of the Alps, with some also on its western, eastern, and northeastern edges, the northern edge of the Alps more or less between Lake Geneva in the west and Lake Traun in the east harbours almost no endemics. The distribution of endemics in the Alps has often been related to the location of glacial refugia. Accordingly, the virtual absence of endemics from the northern edge of the Alps has been explained with the unsuitability of climatic conditions for glacial survival of alpine plants there. After discussing evidence for the existence of glacial refugia for alpine species along the northern edge of the Alps and north of the Alps, I will examine how these refugia differed from refugia along the southern edge of the Alps. I conclude that the uneven distribution of endemics in the Alps is best explained by the different climate through time north and south of the Alps. These climatic differences affected the spatial structure and extent of refugia, the length of isolation of refugial populations, and selective conditions in refugia.
The uneven distribution of refugial endemics across the European Alps suggests a threefold role of climate in speciation of refugial populations
A little more than 10% of the vascular plant flora native to the European Alps is endemic to this area. It has long been noticed that the distribution of endemics across the Alps is very uneven. While most endemics are found along the southern edge of the Alps, with some also on its western, eastern, and northeastern edges, the northern edge of the Alps more or less between Lake Geneva in the west and Lake Traun in the east harbours almost no endemics. The distribution of endemics in the Alps has often been related to the location of glacial refugia. Accordingly, the virtual absence of endemics from the northern edge of the Alps has been explained with the unsuitability of climatic conditions for glacial survival of alpine plants there. After discussing evidence for the existence of glacial refugia for alpine species along the northern edge of the Alps and north of the Alps, I will examine how these refugia differed from refugia along the southern edge of the Alps. I conclude that the uneven distribution of endemics in the Alps is best explained by the different climate through time north and south of the Alps. These climatic differences affected the spatial structure and extent of refugia, the length of isolation of refugial populations, and selective conditions in refugia.
Summary1. This account presents information on all aspects of the biology of Eryngium maritimum L. (Sea Holly) that are relevant to understanding its ecological characteristics and behaviour. The main topics are presented within the standard framework of the Biological Flora of the British Isles: distribution, habitat, communities, responses to biotic factors, responses to environment, structure and physiology, phenology, floral and seed characters, herbivores and disease, history and conservation. 2. Eryngium maritimum is a native perennial hemicryptophyte, with a large taproot, spiny and leathery leaves and a pale bluish inflorescence. It has a more or less continuous distribution in suitable habitats along the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland up to about 55°N, but it is more scattered further north. On the west coast, it is found south of the Hebrides, and on the east coast, with some exceptions, south of Yorkshire. In Europe, it has a wide, but mainly southern temperate, European distribution along the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, the Baltic, the Mediterranean, and the Black and Azov Seas. Its northern distribution limit is at c. 60°N. 3. Eryngium maritimum grows typically on sand and shingle beaches, foredunes and yellow dunes, as well as in semi-fixed grey dunes. Its habitats have full sunlight and are more or less dry. It occurs in many coastal plant communities from the beach inland, and because of its wide European distribution, it occurs with members of several different biogeographical species groups. 4. Protected from grazing by its spininess and sclerophylly, E. maritimum is nevertheless vulnerable to direct damage by trampling. It supports few insect herbivores, probably because of chemical defences. Historically, it has had a great number of medicinal uses. 5. Eryngium maritimum is unable to withstand competition from faster and more densely growing plant species. In many coastal regions, in both temperate and mediterranean parts of Europe, it is one of the rarest and most threatened plant species, mainly because of habitat loss and land-use changes.Key-words: climatic limitation, communities, conservation, ecophysiology, geographical and altitudinal distribution, germination, herbivory, mycorrhiza, reproductive biology, soils Sea Holly. Apiaceae subfamily Saniculoideae. A long-lived, perennial herb with a long, well-developed taproot and thick and fleshy rhizomes extending laterally from buried stems. Reproductive stems 0.15-0.60 m; lower part often root-like and buried in the sand; aerial part pale below but with bluish tinge above, erect, robust, terete or sulcate, glabrous, solid and widely branched above so that the plant forms an open cushion. Basal leaves several; lamina 4-10 9 15-20 cm, leathery, glabrous, intensely glaucous, subrotund in outline and palmately 3(À5) lobed; base truncate or cordate; venation palmate and reticulate, the veins thick, prominent; margin thick, cartilaginous, with large spinose teeth; petioles about as *Nomenclature of vascular plants follows Stace (2010) ...
The south-western land division of Western Australia (SWWA), bordering the temperate Southern and Indian Oceans, is the only global biodiversity hotspot recognised in Australia. Renowned for its extraordinary diversity of endemic plants, and for some of the largest and most botanically significant temperate heathlands and woodlands on Earth, SWWA has long fascinated biogeographers. Its flat, highly weathered topography and the apparent absence of major geographic factors usually implicated in biotic diversification have challenged attempts to explain patterns of biogeography and mechanisms of speciation in the region. Botanical studies have always been central to understanding the biodiversity values of SWWA, although surprisingly few quantitative botanical analyses have allowed for an understanding of historical biogeographic processes in both space and time. Faunistic studies, by contrast, have played little or no role in defining hotspot concepts, despite several decades of accumulating quantitative research on the phylogeny and phylogeography of multiple lineages. In this review we critically analyse datasets with explicit supporting phylogenetic data and estimates of the time since divergence for all available elements of the terrestrial fauna, and compare these datasets to those available for plants. In situ speciation has played more of a role in shaping the south-western Australian fauna than has long been supposed, and has occurred in numerous endemic lineages of freshwater fish, frogs, reptiles, snails and less-vagile arthropods. By contrast, relatively low levels of endemism are found in birds, mammals and highly dispersive insects, and in situ speciation has played a negligible role in generating local endemism in birds and mammals. Quantitative studies provide evidence for at least four mechanisms driving patterns of endemism in south-western Australian animals, including: (i) relictualism of ancient Gondwanan or Pangaean taxa in the High Rainfall Province; (ii) vicariant isolation of lineages west of the Nullarbor divide; (iii) in situ speciation; and (iv) recent population subdivision. From dated quantitative studies we derive four testable models of historical biogeography for animal taxa in SWWA, each explicit in providing a spatial, temporal and topological perspective on patterns of speciation or divergence. For each model we also propose candidate lineages that may be worthy of further study, given what we know of their taxonomy, distributions or relationships. These models formalise four of the strongest patterns seen in many animal taxa from SWWA, although other models are clearly required to explain particular, idiosyncratic patterns. Generating numerous new datasets for suites of co-occurring lineages in SWWA will help refine our understanding of the historical biogeography of the region, highlight gaps in our knowledge, and allow us to derive general postulates from quantitative (rather than qualitative) results. For animals, this process has now begun in earnest, as has the process of ta...
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