Abstract Detail

Biogeography

Escobar Garcia, Pedro [1], Schoenswetter, Peter [1], Schneeweiss, Gerald M. [2].

Evolution and phylogeography of the Western Mediterranean Lavatera triloba aggregate (Malvaceae).

Despite being one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, the Mediterranean is poorly investigated with respect to phylogeography. This situation contrasts with the fact that the paleogeographic history of the region is both well-known and well-dated, allowing for the development of explicit biogeographic hypotheses. Disjunct species provide a valuable model system for understanding biogeographical processes, as geological history may leave a more durable trace in population structure than in continuously distributed, widespread species. The Lavatera triloba aggregate (Malvaceae) is a good example of such system. This western Mediterranean species complex comprises five entities: L. t. ssp. minoricensis from northern Minorca (Balearic Islands, Spain), L. t. ssp. pallescens from southern Sardinia (Italy), L. t. ssp. triloba from the western Mediterranean with populations on the Iberian Peninsula (Spain, Portugal) and southern Sardinia, L. flava from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia and L. agrigentina from Sicily (Italy). Our work aims to unravel the evolutionary patterns within the group, and the processes that shaped the distribution areas exemplified by the investigated taxa. We intend to establish the roles played by vicariance, migration over land bridges and/or long-distance dispersal using AFLPs and chloroplast markers. Preliminary data suggest the existence of two major lineages, an Iberian population cluster and a North-African one. We address the following questions: do these lineages reflect the geological history of the western Mediterranean basin or is their distribution product of long-distance dispersal events? Which migration routes have shaped current plant distribution? Do L. t. ssp. pallescens and L. t. ssp. triloba from Sardinia exchange genetic material or are they isolated by ecological and geographical barriers?

Broader Impacts:

1 - University of Vienna, Department of Biogeography, Rennweg 14, Vienna, Vienna, A-1030, Austria
2 - University of Vienna, Institute for Botany, Department of Plant Biogeography, Rennweg 14, Vienna, A 1030, Austria

Keywords:
Lavatera triloba aggregate
phylogeography
western Mediterranean
AFLPs
cpDNA.

Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Topics
Session: P
Location: Hall A/Convention Center
Date: Monday, August 2nd, 2010
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: PBG011
Abstract ID:365