Deep divergences and extensive phylogeographic structure in a clade of lowland tropical salamanders

BMC Evolutionary Biology

Research Article

Roberto Luna-Reyes¹  Gabriela Parra-Olea²  Carlos R Vásquez-Almazán³  David B Wake⁴  Sean M Rovito⁵ 

[1] Coordinación Técnica de Investigación, Secretaría de Medio Ambiente e Historia Natural, Av. de los Hombres Ilustres s/n, Fraccionamiento Francisco I. Madero, 29000, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, CPChiapas, México;Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, AP 70–153, Circuito Exterior, CP 04310, México, D.F., México;Museo de Historia Natural, Escuela de Biología, Universidad de San Carlos, Calle Mariscal Cruz 1-56, Zona 10, Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala;Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, 3101 Valley Life Sciences Building, 94720-3160, Berkeley, CA, USA;Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Valley Life Sciences Building, 310194720-3160, Berkeley, CA, USA;Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, AP 70–153, Circuito Exterior, CP 04310, México, D.F., México;

关键词: Salamander;    Phylogeography;    Mesoamerica;    Isthmus of Tehuantepec;    Biogeography;    Bolitoglossa;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2148-12-255

 received in 2012-09-13, accepted in 2012-12-12,  发布年份 2012

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe complex geological history of Mesoamerica provides the opportunity to study the impact of multiple biogeographic barriers on population differentiation. We examine phylogeographic patterns in a clade of lowland salamanders (Bolitoglossa subgenus Nanotriton) using two mitochondrial genes and one nuclear gene. We use several phylogeographic analyses to infer the history of this clade and test hypotheses regarding the geographic origin of species and location of genetic breaks within species. We compare our results to those for other taxa to determine if historical events impacted different species in a similar manner.ResultsDeep genetic divergence between species indicates that they are relatively old, and two of the three widespread species show strong phylogeographic structure. Comparison of mtDNA and nuclear gene trees shows no evidence of hybridization or introgression between species. Isolated populations of Bolitoglossa rufescens from Los Tuxtlas region constitute a separate lineage based on molecular data and morphology, and divergence between Los Tuxtlas and other areas appears to predate the arrival of B. rufescens in other areas west of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The Isthmus appears responsible for Pliocene vicariance within B. rufescens, as has been shown for other taxa. The Motagua-Polochic fault system does not appear to have caused population vicariance, unlike in other systems.ConclusionsSpecies of Nanotriton have responded to some major geological events in the same manner as other taxa, particularly in the case of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The deep divergence of the Los Tuxtlas populations of B. rufescens from other populations highlights the contribution of this volcanic system to patterns of regional endemism, and morphological differences observed in the Los Tuxtlas populations suggests that they may represent an undescribed species of Bolitoglossa. The absence of phylogeographic structure in B. nympha, in contrast to the other widespread species in the subgenus, may be due to historical forest contraction and more recent range expansion in the region. Phylogeographic data provide substantial insight into the evolutionary history of these morphologically similar species of salamanders, and contribute to our understanding of factors that have generated the high biodiversity of Mesoamerica.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
© Rovito et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2012. This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.