Some butterflies do not care much about topography: a single genetic lineage of Erebia euryale (Nymphalidae) along the northern Iberian mountains

Abstract

The phylogeography of montane species often reveals strong genetic differentiation among mountain ranges. Both classic morphological and genetic studies have indicated distinctiveness of Pyrenean populations of the butterfly Erebia euryale. This hypothesis remained inconclusive until data from the westernmost populations of the distribution area (Cantabrian Mountains) were analysed. In the present study, we set out to describe the population structure of Erebia euryale in western Cantabria, where the species occurs in scattered localities. For this goal, we estimate the genetic diversity and differentiation found in 218 individuals from six Cantabrian (North Spain) localities genotyped by 17 allozyme loci. We also sequence 816 bp of the cytochrome oxidase subunit I mitochondrial gene in 49 individuals from Cantabrian localities and 41 specimens from five other European sites. Mitochondrial data support the recognition of four major genetic groups previously suggested for the European populations based on allozyme polymorphisms. Both mitochondrial and nuclear markers reveal genetic distinctiveness of a single PyreneanCantabrian lineage of E. euryale. The lack of geographical structure and the star-like topology displayed by the mitochondrial haplotypes indicate a pattern of demographic expansion in northern Iberia, probably related to Upper Pleistocene climatic oscillations. By contrast, within the Pyrenean-Cantabrian lineage, Cantabrian samples are genetically structured in nuclear datasets. In particular, San Isidro is significantly differentiated from the other five populations, which cluster into two groups. We recognize an evolutionary significant unit for PyreneanCantabrian populations of Erebia euryale. Our results also illustrate that the evolutionary history of a species may be shaped by processes undetectable by using mtDNA alone.

Flying between Sky Islands: The Effect of Naturally Fragmented Habitat on Butterfly Population Structure

“…Similar results of reduced gene flow among sky islands have been observed in the montane butterflies, Erebia melampus [15] and Erebia Euryale [46] in Europe. A case in point is Parnassius smintheus from the Canadian rockies [14], where the patches of suitable high altitude meadows have been pushed further apart by habitat fragmentation, resulting in a drop in gene flow.…”

Genetic implications of phylogeographical patterns in the conservation of the boreal wetland butterflyColias palaeno(Pieridae)

“…Furthermore, mean genetic distances (Nei, ) among populations are not compatible with postglacial range expansion from one refugium and subsequent fragmentation. Nevertheless, the overall allozyme differentiation in C. palaeno is lower than that in most other mountain butterflies with populations separated for the entire Würm ice age or longer (Schmitt & Besold, ; Vila et al ., ; Schmitt et al ., ). As a compromise between the interpretation of mtDNA and allozyme information, a continuous and geographically extended distribution during most of the Würm ice age with late Würmian disjunction [maybe during the cryoxerotic Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), some 20 kya] is postulated as a likely scenario.…”

Contrasting diffusion of Quaternary gene pools across Europe: The case of the arctic–alpine Gentiana nivalis L. (Gentianaceae)

“…In analogy to the Alps, many species survived glacial periods at the foothills of the Pyrenees, Carpathians and the mountain systems of the Balkan Peninsula (e.g. Kropf et al, 2003;Muster and Berendonk, 2006;Pauls et al, 2006;Schmitt et al, 2006;Mráz et al, 2007;Kramp et al, 2009;Michl et al, 2010;Dvořáková et al, 2010;Vila et al, 2011). Other genetic groups could survive between such mountain systems retreating into both of them thus showing similar genetic lineages in today highly remote population groups (e.g.…”