Phylogeography of Southern European Refugia Evolutionary Perspectives on the Origins of European Biodiversity

About this book

Phylogeography of Southern European Refugia provides the first synthesis of the remarkable diversity, evolutionary complexity, and conservation importance of the flora and fauna in the Mediterranean region, with emphasis on the three major peninsular refugia. The book frames a number of case studies within several introductory and closing chapters that review the development and importance of phylogeographic approaches in evolutionary biology. The book opens with a chapter by the field's founding father, John Avise, reviewing the 25 evolutionary insights that have arisen from the phylogeographic revolution. Key to this perspective is the notion that the multidisciplinary field of phylogeography is serving as an epistemological bridge between the formerly distinct fields of population genetics and phylogenetics. Next, the foremost leaders of plant phylogeography in Europe, Remy Petit and Giovannvi Vendramin provide an extraordinarily comprehensive and studious review of the history of plant organelle genetics and their application in phylogeography. A closing chapter provides an up-to-date review of the caveats, challenges, and future prospects in phylogeography as a discipline.

The volume contains both broad scale and regional phylogeographic studies with original data from a range of organisms including trees, mammals, insects, fish, reptiles, and amphibians. Throughout the volume it is clear that phylogeographic studies, especially in the major peninsulas of southern Europe (Iberia, Italy, the Balkans) have provided enlightening insights into the evolutionary complexity and conservation importance of biota occupying Europe's most prominent glacial refugia.

Contents

Introduction
1. Twenty-five key evolutionary insights from the phylogeographic revolution in population genetics
2. Plant phylogeography based on organelle genes
3. Phylogeography of Southern European mammals
4. Longitudinal patterns in species richness and genetic diversity in European oaks and oak gallwasps
5. Refugia within refugia
6. Historial biogeography and conservation of the golden-striped salamander (Chioglossa lusitanica)
7. The evolutionary history of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
8. Patterns of hemoglobin polymorphism [a-globin (HBA) and b-globin (HBB)] across the contact zone of two distinct phylogeographic lineages of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
9. Spatial genetic structure of an explicit glacial refugium of maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Aiton)
10. Endemism in Sardinia
11. Are Macaronesian islands refugia of relict plant lineages?
12. DNA variation
13. Cross-section of a refugium
14. Current perspectives in phylogeography and the significance of South European refugia

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