Open AccessComparative phylogeography of six herpetofauna species in C yprus: late M iocene to P leistocene colonization routes
Author(s) -
Poulakakis Nikos,
Kapli Paschalia,
Kardamaki Afroditi,
Skourtanioti Eirini,
Göcmen Bayram,
Ilgaz Çetin,
Kumlutaş Yusuf,
Avci Aziz,
Lymberakis Petros
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
biological journal of the linnean society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.906
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1095-8312
pISSN - 0024-4066
DOI - 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2012.02039.x
Subject(s) - biological dispersal , biology , land bridge , ecology , phylogeography , pleistocene , biogeography , vicariance , molecular clock , colonization , phylogenetic tree , paleontology , population , biochemistry , demography , sociology , gene
The colonization patterns of oceanic islands are often interpreted through transmarine dispersal. However, in islands with intense human activities and unclear geological history, this inference may be inappropriate. C yprus is such an island, whose geotectonic evolution has not been clarified yet to the desired level for biogeographical reconstructions, leaving the questions of ‘how the C ypriote biota arrived’ and ‘does the dispersal have the formative role in patterns of its diversification’ unanswered. Here, we address these issues through a reconstruction of the evolutionary history of six herptiles ( A blepharus budaki , O phisops elegans , A canthodactylus schreiberi , T elescopus fallax , P elophylax cf . bedriagae , and H yla savignyi ) by means of mitochondrial DNA (cytochrome b and 16S rRNA ), applying a B ayesian phylogenetic, biogeographical, and chronophylogenetic analyses. The phylogeographical analyses show that the colonization history of those species in C yprus started in the late M iocene and extended into the P liocene and P leistocene, with geodispersal, transmarine dispersal, and human‐mediated dispersal having their share in shaping the diversification of C ypriote herptiles. The revealed patterns could be divided into three biogeographical categories: old colonizers that arrived in C yprus during the late M iocene or early Pliocene either by a land bridge (geodispersal) which connected C yprus with the mainland or by transmarine dispersal, younger colonizers that reached the island through transmarine dispersal from the M iddle E ast, and new settlers that arrived through human‐induced (voluntary or not) introductions. This work advances our knowledge of the biogeography of C yprus and highlights the need to consider both geo‐ and transmarine dispersal when dealing with islands whose associations do not have a straightforward interpretation. © 2013 The Linnean Society of London