What are We Learning about Speciation and Extinction from the Canary Islands?

Illera, Juan Carlos; Spurgin, Lewis G.; Rodriguez-Exposito, Eduardo; Nogales, Manuel; Reyes, José Augusto Abreu

doi:10.13157/arla.63.1.2016.rp1

Cited by 63 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 112 publications

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“…Further evidence from the animal kingdom comes from studies inferring multiple colonization waves of conspecific taxa at different temporal windows. Such a recurrent pattern of island colonization is intrinsically consistent with the idea of extinction favouring arrival to islands previously colonized by relatives (Illera et al., ). In this context, placing extinction within a particular spatio‐temporal background (i.e.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

“…Low habitat heterogeneity, often associated with the advanced eroded stage of the islands and soil degradation, has been postulated as the major driver of the limited ECI endemicity (Reyes‐Betancort et al., ; Rodríguez Rodríguez, Mora, Arbelo, & Bordon, ). In addition, human impact is thought to have contributed to generate poor levels of taxonomic diversity on these islands (Illera et al., ; Reyes‐Betancort et al., ). Unlike animal taxa (Gangoso, Donázar, Scholz, Palacios, & Hiraldo, ; Illera et al., ), human‐driven extinction of Canarian plants has been rarely documented (Aedo, Medina, Barberá, & Fernández‐Albert, ; Reyes‐Betancort et al., ), but may have locally affected extant island distributions.…”

Section: Conceptual Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, human impact is thought to have contributed to generate poor levels of taxonomic diversity on these islands (Illera et al., ; Reyes‐Betancort et al., ). Unlike animal taxa (Gangoso, Donázar, Scholz, Palacios, & Hiraldo, ; Illera et al., ), human‐driven extinction of Canarian plants has been rarely documented (Aedo, Medina, Barberá, & Fernández‐Albert, ; Reyes‐Betancort et al., ), but may have locally affected extant island distributions. Despite the potential implication of human impact, it is however interesting to make two observations with regard to the levels of plant diversity on the ECI.…”

Section: Conceptual Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pleistocene extinctions as drivers of biogeographical patterns on the easternmost Canary Islands

García‐Verdugo

Caujapé‐Castells²,

Illera

et al. 2019

Journal of Biogeography

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Subtropical islands are often viewed as refuges where Quaternary climatic shifts driving global episodes of extinction were buffered. Island biodiversity, however, may have been impacted by climatic fluctuations at local scales, particularly in spatially heterogeneous island systems. In this study, we generated a conceptual framework for predicting the potential impact of Pleistocene extinctions on the biogeographical pattern of the Canarian spermatophyte flora, with a focus on the easternmost Canarian islands (ECI). Then, we performed an exhaustive bibliographic revision (270 studies) to examine whether taxonomic, phylogenetic and phylogeographical data support our predictions. Although molecular information is limited for many lineages, the available data suggest that the majority of extant ECI plant taxa may be the result of relatively recent (<1 Ma) dispersal from surrounding insular and mainland areas. Different lines of evidence are compatible with the idea of a Pleistocene period of frequent lineage extirpation on ECI. Extinction may thus have provided new ecological opportunities for recent (re)colonization, with some cases of recent establishment mediated by facilitation. Considering background extinction on ECI, we describe five general patterns of colonization for Canarian plant lineages. In addition to factors related to island ontogeny and long‐distance dispersal, we suggest that Pleistocene extinctions may have significantly contributed to extant biogeographical patterns in the Canarian archipelago, such as the biased distribution ranges of island plants and the low endemic richness on ECI. This new scenario provides testable hypotheses for future studies dealing with the phylogeography, taxonomy and conservation of terrestrial biodiversity on the Canarian islands, and possibly, on other near‐shore islands.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Conceptual Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Conceptual Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pleistocene extinctions as drivers of biogeographical patterns on the easternmost Canary Islands

García‐Verdugo

Caujapé‐Castells²,

Illera

et al. 2019

Journal of Biogeography

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“…This value is even higher considering the plants where the endemic taxa (> 550 species) represent around 40% of the native flora (Francisco-Ortega et al 2000). In relation to extant breeding birds, six species and more than 30 subspecies are endemics (Illera et al 2012(Illera et al , 2016, while considering the extant and extinct species the number is much higher (Illera et al 2012(Illera et al , 2016. Interestingly, the Canarian birds have recently provided several examples of cryptic differentiation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Acoustic, genetic, and morphological analyses of the Canarian common chaffinch complexFringilla coelebsssp. reveals cryptic diversification

Illera

Reyes²,

Rodriguez-Exposito

et al. 2018

Journal of Avian Biology

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The common chaffinch Fringilla coelebs is the extant avian species with the highest level of differentiation across North Atlantic archipelagos. Such a degree of diversification has been traditionally recognised within the subspecies category, with one endemic subspecies occurring in Azores (F. c. moreletti), one in Madeira (F. c. maderensis), and three in the Canary Islands (F. c. canariensis, F. c. palmae and F. c. ombriosa). Recent genetic, acoustic, and sperm morphology studies informed us about the significant differentiation of the Gran Canaria population, which is traditionally included within F. c. canariensis subspecies. The goal of this study is to examine the similarity of the Canarian chaffinches, with the objective of determining if the Gran Canaria chaffinches represent an isolated and distinct population. In order to achieve this aim, we used a double approach: 1) we analysed new morphological and genetic data from the Canary Islands, and 2) we reviewed and synthesised the vast acoustic, morphological and genetic information available for these taxa in Macaronesia, with special emphasis on the Canary Islands. Genetic, acoustic, and sperm morphological data, and to a lesser extent phenotypic data, strongly support the existence of a cryptic taxon in Gran Canaria. Moreover, our findings also reveal an incipient speciation process on going in the Canary Islands, mostly driven by genetic differentiation. Overall, our synthesis suggests that individuals occurring in Gran Canaria should be considered as a novel taxon that we formally described as Fringilla coelebs bakeri ssp. nov.

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“…; Illera et al . ). The unusual pattern seen in standardized nucleotide diversity may be explained by this prevalence of drift over selection.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Correlated patterns of genetic diversity and differentiation across an avian family

et al. 2017

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Comparative studies of closely related taxa can provide insights into the evolutionary forces that shape genome evolution and the prevalence of convergent molecular evolution. We investigated patterns of genetic diversity and differentiation in stonechats (genus Saxicola), a widely distributed avian species complex with phenotypic variation in plumage, morphology and migratory behaviour, to ask whether similar genomic regions have become differentiated in independent, but closely related, taxa. We used whole-genome pooled sequencing of 262 individuals from five taxa and found that levels of genetic diversity and divergence are strongly correlated among different stonechat taxa. We then asked whether these patterns remain correlated at deeper evolutionary scales and found that homologous genomic regions have become differentiated in stonechats and the closely related Ficedula flycatchers. Such correlation across a range of evolutionary divergence and among phylogenetically independent comparisons suggests that similar processes may be driving the differentiation of these independently evolving lineages, which in turn may be the result of intrinsic properties of particular genomic regions (e.g. areas of low recombination). Consequently, studies employing genome scans to search for areas important for reproductive isolation or adaptation should account for corresponding regions of differentiation, as these regions may not necessarily represent speciation islands or evidence of local adaptation.

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What are We Learning about Speciation and Extinction from the Canary Islands?

Cited by 63 publications

References 112 publications

Pleistocene extinctions as drivers of biogeographical patterns on the easternmost Canary Islands

Pleistocene extinctions as drivers of biogeographical patterns on the easternmost Canary Islands

Acoustic, genetic, and morphological analyses of the Canarian common chaffinch complexFringilla coelebsssp. reveals cryptic diversification

Correlated patterns of genetic diversity and differentiation across an avian family

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