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Cryptic diversity and multiple origins of the widespread mayfly species group Baetis rhodani (Ephemeroptera: Baetidae) on northwestern Mediterranean islands
Author(s) -
Bisconti Roberta,
Canestrelli Daniele,
Tenchini Roberta,
Belfiore Carlo,
Buffagni Andrea,
Nascetti Giuseppe
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
ecology and evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.17
H-Index - 63
ISSN - 2045-7758
DOI - 10.1002/ece3.2465
Subject(s) - mayfly , baetidae , biology , ecology , biological dispersal , vicariance , population , phylogenetic tree , phylogeography , invertebrate , nymph , biochemistry , demography , sociology , gene
How the often highly endemic biodiversity of islands originated has been debated for decades, and it remains a fervid research ground. Here, using mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequence analyses, we investigate the diversity, phylogenetic relationships, and evolutionary history of the mayfly Baetis gr. rhodani on the three largest northwestern Mediterranean islands (Sardinia, Corsica, Elba). We identify three distinct, largely co‐distributed, and deeply differentiated lineages, with divergences tentatively dated back to the Eocene–Oligocene transition. Bayesian population structure analyses reveal a lack of gene exchange between them, even at sites where they are syntopic, indicating that these lineages belong to three putative species. Their phylogenetic relationships with continental relatives, together with the dating estimates, support a role for three processes contributing to this diversity: (1) vicariance, primed by microplate disjunction and oceanic transgression; (2) dispersal from the continent; and (3) speciation within the island group. Thus, our results do not point toward a prevailing role for any of the previously invoked processes. Rather, they suggest that a variety of processes equally contributed to shape the diverse and endemic biota of this group of islands.

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