Abstract Detail

Systematics

Larsson, Dennis [1], Paun, Ovidiu [2], Schneeweiss, Gerald [3], Šarhanová, Petra [4].

Origin of synanthropes: are anthropogenic habitats drivers of both extinction and speciation? A case study.

Hybrid speciation has long been acknowledged to significantly contribute to the diversity of plant species by allowing the hybrid species to achieve transgressive variations, enabling occupation of novel niches. Because hybrids are often less competitive in their parents’ habitats and need to establish reproductive isolation, ecogeographical differentiation is often observed in hybrid species that succeed in establishing themselves. Ecogeographical differentiation can be achieved by occupying a novel habitat and in the last centuries anthropogenic habitats have frequently served as such for incipient hybrid species to escape their parents. Human activity and disturbance of natural habitats may also in of itself trigger hybridization, by disturbing the ecogeographical boundaries between closely related species or by introducing related species from geographically distant areas. It is therefore not unreasonable to believe that species that today grow in exclusively anthropogenic habitats may be of recent hybrid origin, triggered by early human modifications of natural habitats.Here we investigate the origin of the exclusive synanthrope Phyteuma gallicum, which have been hypothesized to be of hybrid origin, as well as its putative parent species P. spicatum and P. nigrum. Using restriction-site associated sequencing we generate a large number of single nucleotide polymorphisms and use them to both investigate the genetic structure between investigated taxa (using principal component analysis and a STRUCTURE-like approach) and test the hybrid origin hypothesis using demographic modelling. In addition, we model the ecological niche of P. gallicum and its putative parents to investigate their ecological niche and distribution today and during the last glacial maximum (LGM). The results of our analyses show that although P. gallicum is not a hybrid, it has contributed to the genetic diversity of the western group of P. spicatum, indicating that significant introgression occurred from P. gallicum to P. spicatum during post-LGM range shifts. We discuss the possibility that anthropogenic habitats served as a shelter for P. gallicum from genetic swamping by P. spicatum or whether human modification of natural habitats have destroyed the natural habitat of P. gallicum, further exacerbating the species' difficult situation.

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1 - University of Vienna, Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, Rennweg 14, Vienna, 1030, Austria
2 - University Of Vienna , Department Of Botany And Biodiversity Research, Rennweg 14, Vienna, A-1030, Austria
3 - University Of Vienna, Botany And Biodiversity Research, Rennweg 14, Wien, 9, A-1030, Austria
4 - Masaryk University, Botany and Zoology, Žerotínovo nám. 617/9, Brno, 601 77, Czech Republic

Keywords:
Anthropogenic habitats
hybridization
RADseq
Phyteuma
Campanulaceae
phylogeography
demographic model
hybrid speciation
synanthrope
genetic swamping
Niche Modeling.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: SYSTI, Systematics I: Euasterids II
Location: Virtual/Virtual
Date: Tuesday, July 20th, 2021
Time: 10:45 AM(EDT)
Number: SYSTI004
Abstract ID:1131
Candidate for Awards:None