Premium
Palaearctic biogeography revisited: evidence for the existence of a North African refugium for Western Palaearctic biota
Author(s) -
Husemann Martin,
Schmitt Thomas,
Zachos Frank E.,
Ulrich Werner,
Habel Jan Christian
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of biogeography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 158
eISSN - 1365-2699
pISSN - 0305-0270
DOI - 10.1111/jbi.12180
Subject(s) - refugium (fishkeeping) , biogeography , ecology , taxon , biology , pleistocene , nestedness , vicariance , geography , mediterranean climate , biological dispersal , biota , archipelago , phylogeography , clade , mediterranean islands , laurasia , biodiversity , phylogenetic tree , habitat , population , paleontology , gondwana , biochemistry , demography , structural basin , sociology , gene
Aim In contrast to the attention given to southern Europe both as a centre of speciation and differentiation and as a Pleistocene refugium of Western Palaearctic taxa, North Africa has been relatively neglected. In this paper, we set out to address this shortfall. Location North‐West Africa and the Mediterranean. Methods We reviewed the existing literature on the biogeography of North Africa, and carried out analyses of species distribution data using parsimony, nestedness and co‐occurrence methods. Results In many cases, distribution patterns of non‐flying mammals, bats, amphibians, reptiles, butterflies, zygaenid moths and odonates demonstrated important biogeographical affinities between Europe and North Africa at the species level. On the other hand, species co‐occurrence, nestedness and parsimony analysis also revealed some deep splits between the Maghreb and Europe; yet even in these cases the closest affinities were found between the Iberian Peninsula and the Maghreb. Furthermore, North Africa harbours the highest proportion of endemic taxa (13.7%) across all groups analysed. Many molecular studies demonstrated a strong genetic cohesiveness between North Africa and Europe despite the potential barrier effect of the Mediterranean Sea. In other taxa, however, remarkable splits were detected. In addition, southern European genetic lineages were often nested within North African clades, and many taxa showed exceptionally high genetic variability and differentiation in this region. Main conclusions The Maghreb was an important differentiation and speciation centre for thermophilic organisms during the Pliocene and Pleistocene with high relevance as a colonization source for Europe. The regions around the sea straits of Gibraltar and Sicily have acted as important biogeographical links between North Africa and Europe at different times.