Mario Mairal1,2, Juli Caujapé-Castells2, Loïc Pellissier3,4, Ruth Jaén-Molina2, Nadir Álvarez5, Myriam Heuertz6, Isabel Sanmartín1. 1. Real Jardín Botánico (RJB), CSIC, Plaza de Murillo, Madrid, Spain. 2. Departamento de Biodiversidad Molecular y Banco de ADN, Jardín Botánico 'Viera y Clavijo' - Unidad Asociada CSIC (Cabildo de Gran Canaria), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. 3. Landscape Ecology, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland. 4. Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland. 5. Department of Ecology and Evolution, Institute of Biology, University of Lausanne, Biophore Dorigny, Lausanne, Switzerland. 6. Biogeco, INRA, University of Bordeaux, Cestas, France.
Abstract
Background and Aims: Various studies and conservationist reports have warned about the contraction of the last subtropical Afro-Macaronesian forests. These relict vegetation zones have been restricted to a few oceanic and continental islands around the edges of Africa, due to aridification. Previous studies on relict species have generally focused on glacial effects on narrow endemics; however, little is known about the effects of aridification on the fates of previously widespread subtropical lineages. Methods: Nuclear microsatellites and ecological niche modelling were used to understand observed patterns of genetic diversity in two emblematic species, widely distributed in these ecosystems: Canarina eminii (a palaeoendemic of the eastern Afromontane forests) and Canarina canariensis (a palaeoendemic of the Canarian laurel forests). The software DIYABC was used to test alternative demographic scenarios and an ensemble method was employed to model potential distributions of the selected plants from the end of the deglaciation to the present. Key Results: All the populations assessed experienced a strong and recent population decline, revealing that locally widespread endemisms may also be alarmingly threatened. Conclusions: The detected extinction debt, as well as the extinction spiral to which these populations are subjected, demands urgent conservation measures for the unique, biodiversity-rich ecosystems that they inhabit.
Background and Aims: Various studies and conservationist reports have warned about the contraction of the last subtropical Afro-Macaronesian forests. These relict vegetation zones have been restricted to a few oceanic and continental islands around the edges of Africa, due to aridification. Previous studies on relict species have generally focused on glacial effects on narrow endemics; however, little is known about the effects of aridification on the fates of previously widespread subtropical lineages. Methods: Nuclear microsatellites and ecological niche modelling were used to understand observed patterns of genetic diversity in two emblematic species, widely distributed in these ecosystems: Canarina eminii (a palaeoendemic of the eastern Afromontane forests) and Canarina canariensis (a palaeoendemic of the Canarian laurel forests). The software DIYABC was used to test alternative demographic scenarios and an ensemble method was employed to model potential distributions of the selected plants from the end of the deglaciation to the present. Key Results: All the populations assessed experienced a strong and recent population decline, revealing that locally widespread endemisms may also be alarmingly threatened. Conclusions: The detected extinction debt, as well as the extinction spiral to which these populations are subjected, demands urgent conservation measures for the unique, biodiversity-rich ecosystems that they inhabit.
Authors: Rémy J Petit; Itziar Aguinagalde; Jacques-Louis de Beaulieu; Christiane Bittkau; Simon Brewer; Rachid Cheddadi; Richard Ennos; Silvia Fineschi; Delphine Grivet; Martin Lascoux; Aparajita Mohanty; Gerhard Müller-Starck; Brigitte Demesure-Musch; Anna Palmé; Juan Pedro Martín; Sarah Rendell; Giovanni G Vendramin Journal: Science Date: 2003-06-06 Impact factor: 47.728
Authors: Lisa Pokorny; Ricarda Riina; Mario Mairal; Andrea S Meseguer; Victoria Culshaw; Jon Cendoya; Miguel Serrano; Rodrigo Carbajal; Santiago Ortiz; Myriam Heuertz; Isabel Sanmartín Journal: Front Genet Date: 2015-05-01 Impact factor: 4.599