Historic Cycles of Fragmentation and Expansion in Parnassius Smintheus (Papilionidae) Inferred Using Mitochondrial Dna

Molecular phylogeography and population structure of a mid-elevation montane frog Leptobrachium ailaonicum in a fragmented habitat of southwest China

“…The NCA inference within this region (Table 3) is indiscriminate, but the signals of population growth derived from Fu's F s test and patterns of the phylogenetic trees support this interpretation. This pattern has been observed in other montane organisms that were hypothesized to have been originally isolated in sky island refugia during warm interglacials, such as the present, and expanded their ranges by dispersing down-slope and across the historical lowland barriers during the glacial periods, resulting in secondary contact between previously allopatric populations (DeChaine and Martin, 2004;Yuan et al, 2006). Therefore, based on our above results, we hypothesize that the genetic history of L. ailaonicum included (i) initial divergence between four clades at 4.41-12.09 Ma, which would have been caused by the Late Cenozoic uplift of Mt.…”

Climate Change and Evolutionary Adaptations at Species' Range Margins

“…For example, the coldadapted European leaf beetle Gonioctena pallida has a hotspot of genetic diversity in the Carpathian Mountains in central Europe, which implies that current patterns of genetic variation in this species reflect a Pleistocene climatic event that resulted in population isolation >90,000 years ago, well before the end of the last ice age (78). Other studies demonstrate evidence of repeated glacial/interglacial cycles on current patterns of genetic diversity, with likely range expansion during glacial periods (25).…”

Interglacial refugia and range shifts of the alpine grasshopper Stenobothrus cotticus (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Gomphocerinae)

“…During the last century the temperature changes at high elevations were more extreme than for the global averages (Beniston et al 1997). These changes have severe effects on alpine ecosystems as they lead to an upward altitudinal range shift of alpine species, and to increased fragmentation of populations, thus putting the latter at higher risk of extinction (DeChaine and Martin 2004;Theurillat and Guisan 2001). The current temperature level nearly reaches values of temperature maxima during the Holocene (Kinzelbach 2007); therefore, the fragmentation of the S. cotticus populations likely resembles the situation during stadial maxima.…”

“…Thermophilic species spread out from southern refugia and expanded their ranges northwards or to higher levels in the mountains. In contrast to many others, some cold adapted species failed to expand their range to the north and became restricted to small mountain summits ('sky islands') that now serve as inter-glacial refugia (DeChaine and Martin 2004;Knowles 2000Knowles , 2001.…”