Premium
Past climate‐driven range shifts and population genetic diversity in arctic plants
Author(s) -
Pellissier Loïc,
Eidesen Pernille Bronken,
Ehrich Dorothee,
Descombes Patrice,
Schönswetter Peter,
Tribsch Andreas,
Westergaard Kristine Bakke,
Alvarez Nadir,
Guisan Antoine,
Zimmermann Niklaus E.,
Normand Signe,
Vittoz Pascal,
Luoto Miska,
Damgaard Christian,
Brochmann Christian,
Wisz Mary S.,
Alsos Inger Greve
Publication year - 2016
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.12657
Subject(s) - range (aeronautics) , genetic diversity , ecology , biology , species distribution , population , habitat , materials science , demography , sociology , composite material
Aim High intra‐specific genetic diversity is necessary for species adaptation to novel environments under climate change, but species tracking suitable conditions are losing alleles through successive founder events during range shift. Here, we investigated the relationship between range shift since the Last Glacial Maximum ( LGM ) and extant population genetic diversity across multiple plant species to understand variability in species responses. Location The circumpolar Arctic and northern temperate alpine ranges. Methods We estimated the climatic niches of 30 cold‐adapted plant species using range maps coupled with species distribution models and hindcasted species suitable areas to reconstructions of the mid‐Holocene and LGM climates. We computed the species‐specific migration distances from the species glacial refugia to their current distribution and correlated distances to extant genetic diversity in 1295 populations. Differential responses among species were related to life‐history traits. Results We found a negative association between inferred migration distances from refugia and genetic diversities in 25 species, but only 11 had statistically significant negative slopes. The relationships between inferred distance and population genetic diversity were steeper for insect‐pollinated species than wind‐pollinated species, but the difference among pollination system was marginally independent from phylogenetic autocorrelation. Main conclusion The relationships between inferred migration distances and genetic diversities in 11 species, independent from current isolation, indicate that past range shifts were associated with a genetic bottleneck effect with an average of 21% loss of genetic diversity per 1000 km −1 . In contrast, the absence of relationship in many species also indicates that the response is species specific and may be modulated by plant pollination strategies or result from more complex historical contingencies than those modelled here.