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BACKGROUND: The Mexican hand tree or Canac (Chiranthodendron pentadactylon) is a temperate tree species of cloud and pine-oak forests of southern Mexico and Guatemala. Its characteristic hand-shaped flower is used in folk medicine and has constituted the iconic symbol of the Sociedad Botánica de México since 1940. Here, the evolutionary history of this species was estimated through phylogeographic analyses of nuclear DNA sequences obtained through restriction site associated DNA sequencing and ecological niche modeling. Total genomic DNA was extracted from leaf samples obtained from a representative number (5 to 10 per sampling site) of individuals distributed along the species geographic range. In Mexico, population is comprised by spatially isolated individuals which may follow the trends of cloud forest fragmentation. By contrast, in Guatemala Chiranthodendron may constitute a canopy dominant species near the Acatenango volcano. The distributional range of this species encompasses geographic provinces separated by the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The objectives of the study were to: (i) estimate its genetic structure to define whether the observed range disjunction exerted by the Isthmus of Tehuantepec translates into separate populations, (ii) link population divergence timing and demographic trends to historical climate change, and (iii) test hypotheses related to Pleistocene refugia. RESULTS: Patterns of genetic diversity indicated high levels of genetic differentiation between populations separated by the Isthmus. The western and eastern population diverged approximately 0.873 Million years ago (Ma). Demographic analyses supported a simultaneous split from an ancestral population and rapid expansion from a small stock approximately 0.2 Ma corresponding to a glacial period. The populations have remained stable since the LIG (130 Kilo years ago (Ka)). Species distribution modelling (SDM) predicted a decrease in potential distribution in the Last Interglacial (LIG) and an increase during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) (22 Ka), Mid-Holocene (6 Ka) and present times. CONCLUSIONS: Divergence time estimations support the hypothesis that populations represent Quaternary relict elements of a species with broader and northernmost distribution. Pleistocene climatic shifts exerted major influence on the distribution of populations allowing dispersion during episodes of suitable climatic conditions and structuring during the first interglacial with a time period length of 100 Kilo years (Kyr) and the vicariant influence of the Isthmus. Limited demographic expansion and population connectivity during the LGM supports the moist forest hypothesis model.
Asunto(s)
Evolución Biológica , Malvaceae/clasificación , Bosque Lluvioso , Árboles/clasificación , Núcleo Celular , Cambio Climático , ADN de Plantas , Ecosistema , Humanos , Malvaceae/genética , México , Filogeografía , Análisis de Secuencia de ADN , Árboles/genéticaRESUMEN
Edge effects alter insect biodiversity in several ways. However, we still have a limited understanding on simultaneous responses of ecological populations and assemblages to ecotones, especially in human modified landscapes. We analyze edge effects on dung beetle populations and assemblages between livestock pastures and native temperate forests (Juniperus and pine-oak forests (POFs)) to describe how species abundances and assemblage parameters respond to edge effects through gradients in forest-pasture ecotones. In Juniperus forest 13 species avoided the ecotones: six species showed greater abundance in forest interior and seven in pasturelands, while the other two species had a neutral response to the edge. In a different way, in POF we found five species avoiding the edge (four with greater abundance in pastures and only one in forest), two species had a neutral response, and two showed a unimodal pattern of abundance near to the edge. At the assemblage level edge effects are masked, as species richness, diversity, functional richness, functional evenness, and compositional incidence dissimilarity did not vary along forest-pasture ecotones. However, total abundance and functional divergence showed higher values in pastures in one of the two sampling localities. Also, assemblage similarity based on species' abundance showed a peak near to the edge in POF. We propose that conservation efforts in human-managed landscapes should focus on mitigating current and delayed edge effects. Ecotone management will be crucial in livestock dominated landscapes to conserve regional biodiversity and the environmental services carried out by dung beetles.
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Vaejovis islaserranosp. n. is described from the Sierras Elenita and La Mariquita, Municipio de Cananea, Sonora, Mexico. This species belongs to the "vorhiesi" group of the genus Vaejovis and inhabits pine-oak forests in northern Mexico. This species is compared to its most similar species. This new species presents an interesting morphological difference from the rest of the species in the species-group: the absence of a subaculear tubercle or spine.
ResumenSe describe Vaejovis islaserranosp. n. de las Sierras Elenita y La Mariquita, en el Municipio de Cananea, Sonora, México. Esta especie pertenece al grupo "vorhiesi" dentro del género Vaejovis y que habita en los bosques de pino y encino del norte de México. Se le compara con las especies más similares morfológicamente. Esta nueva especie presenta una característica morfológica interesante para las especies del grupo: la ausencia de un tubérculo o espina subaculear.
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Rattlesnakes (Crotalus and Sistrurus) represent a radiation of approximately 42 species distributed throughout the New World from southern Canada to Argentina. Interest in this enigmatic group of snakes continues to accrue due, in part, to their ecomorphological diversity, contributions to global envenomations, and potential medicinal importance. Although the group has garnered substantial attention from systematists and evolutionary biologists for decades, little is still known regarding patterns of lineage diversification. In addition, few studies have statistically quantified broad-scale biogeographic patterns in rattlesnakes to ascertain how dispersal occurred throughout the New World, particularly among the different major biomes of the Americas. To examine diversification and biogeographic patterns in this group of snakes we assemble a multilocus data set consisting of over 6700bp encompassing three nuclear loci (NT-3, RAG-1, C-mos) and seven mitochondrial genes (12S, 16S, ATPase6, ATPase8, ND4, ND5, cytb). Fossil-calibrated phylogenetic and subsequent diversification rate analyses are implemented using maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference, to examine their evolutionary history and temporal dynamics of diversity. Based on ancestral area reconstructions we explore dispersal patterns throughout the New World. Cladogenesis occurred predominantly during the Miocene and Pliocene with only two divergences during the Pleistocene. Two different diversification rate models, advocating diversity-dependence, are strongly supported. These models indicate an early rapid radiation followed by a recent speciation rate decline. Biogeographic analyses suggest that the high elevation pine-oak forests of western Mexico served as a major speciation pump for the majority of lineages, with the desert biome of western North America colonized independently at least twice. All together, these results provide evidence for rapid diversification of rattlesnakes throughout the Mexican highlands during the Neogene, likely in response to continual orogenesis of Mexico's major mountain systems, followed by more recent dispersal into desert and tropical biomes.