Emerging phylogeographical patterns of plants and terrestrial vertebrates from Patagonia

Abstract

Phylogeographical inferences, applied in a comparative framework across multiple species at a regional scale, provide the means for detecting regional and landscape-level patterns of biodiversity, which are important for understanding macroecology and evolution in a geographical mosaic against a backdrop broadly impacted by geological events. Although information on Patagonian phylogeographical patterns has accumulated for both aquatic and terrestrial organisms in recent years, no attempt has been made to compare patterns across major organismal groups. In this review, we compiled studies on the phylogeography of co-distributed plants and terrestrial vertebrates from Patagonia. From each study, we extracted information on levels of genetic diversity, and inferred demographic processes and phylogeographical breaks, as well as on putative refugia, to produce the first summary of emerging phylogeographical patterns for this region. This review reveals some congruent phylogeographical patterns within and among plants and terrestrial vertebrates, and suggests that PreQuaternary as well as Quaternary geological events would have been important driving forces in the evolutionary history of Patagonian lineages. Different processes and directional range shifts suggest a mosaic of phylogeographical patterns, far more complex than the several north-south common patterns traditionally proposed.Las inferencias filogeográficas, dentro de un marco comparativo cuando incluyen varias especies a escala regional, permiten detectar patrones de biodiversidad regional y de paisaje (fisonómicos), importantes para entender tanto la macroecología como el impacto a gran escala de los eventos geológicos. En los últimos años, el conocimiento filogeográfico de Patagonia se ha acumulado para organismos acuáticos y terrestres, y aunque se han propuesto pocos patrones demográficos o espaciales cualitativamente concordantes, no se ha hecho ningún intento de revisar comparativamente algunos de esos patrones considerando grandes grupos de organismos. En esta revisión compilamos el conocimiento publicado sobre la filogeografía de plantas vasculares y vertebrados terrestres de Patagonia con el propósito de comparar niveles de diversidad genética, procesos demográficos, quiebres filogeográ-ficos y localización de posibles refugios, para producir el primer resumen de patrones filogeográficos emergentes

Genetic relationships between Atlantic and Pacific populations of the notothenioid fish Eleginops maclovinus: the footprints of Quaternary glaciations in Patagonia

“…It thus represents a suitable area to study the biogeographic consequences of Quaternary glacial cycles in the Southern Hemisphere (Lessa et al, 2010;Sérsic et al, 2011). In this region, the long glacial climatic episodes allowed the formation of a single continuous ice sheet that almost completely covered the Patagonian Andean ranges and extended over the piedmont areas to the east and to sea level on the Pacific side.…”

Low phylogeographic structure of Rhinella arunco (Anura: Bufonidae), an endemic amphibian from the Chilean Mediterranean hotspot

“…At their maximum extension, the glaciers extended to approximately 33°S. This phenomenon generated changes in the climate, landscape, and sea level, which may have affected the demographics and distributions of the biota, implying a loss of genetic diversity due to important decreases in their population sizes, followed by post-glacial demographic and range expansions (Hewitt 2000;Sérsic et al 2011).…”

<b>Linkage disequilibrium and population structure in <i>Fragaria chiloensis</i> revealed by SSR markers transferred from commercial strawberry

“…In comparison, Carrasco et al (2007) described that among F. chiloensis individuals grouped by latitude, genetic distance φ ST = 0.03, which is remarkably similar to our results. It is worth noting that the genetic groups described by STRUCTURE analysis strongly resemble the distribution of potential glacial refuges in Chile (Figure 3), and samples that are not present in these refugia coincide with colonization routes described for other plant and vertebrate species (Sérsic et al, 2011). In particular, samples located in Chiloé Island and its surroundings are separated from the rest in the structure analysis and should be the focus of future in depth studies.…”