Phylogeography, evolutionary history and effects of glaciations in a species ( Zootoca vivipara) inhabiting multiple biogeographic regions

• Published in: Journal of Biogeography
• Main Authors: Horreo, Jose L., Pelaez, Maria L., Suárez, Teresa, Breedveld, Merel C., Heulin, Benoit, Surget‐Groba, Yann, Oksanen, Tuula A., Fitze, Patrick S.
• Other Authors: Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, Academy of Finland
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2018
• Subjects: permafrost
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jbi.13349; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fjbi.13349; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jbi.13349

Abstract Aim During glaciations, the distribution of temperate species inhabiting the Northern Hemisphere generally contracts into southern refugia; and in boreo‐alpine species of the Northern Hemisphere, expansion from Northern refugia is the general rule. Little is known about the drivers explaining vast distributions of species inhabiting multiple biogeographic regions (major biogeographic regions defined by the European Environmental Agency). Here we investigate the fine‐scale phylogeography and evolutionary history of the Eurasian common lizard ( Zootoca vivipara ), the terrestrial reptile with the world's widest and highest latitudinal distribution, that inhabits multiple biogeographic regions. Location Eurasia. Methods We generated the largest molecular dataset to date of Z. vivipara , ran phylogenetic analyses, reconstructed its evolutionary history, determined the location of glacial refuges and reconstructed ancestral biogeographic regions. Results The phylogenetic analyses revealed a complex evolutionary history, driven by expansions and contractions of the distribution due to glacials and interglacials, and the colonization of new biogeographic regions by all lineages of Z. vivipara . Many glacial refugia were detected, most were located close to the southern limit of the Last Glacial Maximum. Two subclades recolonized large areas covered by permafrost during the last glaciation: namely, Western and Northern Europe and North‐Eastern Europe and Asia. Main conclusions In Z. vivipara, most of the glacial refugia were located in the South of their current distribution. Previous studies suggested the existence of Northern refuges, but the species' inability to overwinter on permafrost and the lack of genetic support suggest that the presence of a refugia in the north of the Alps is unlikely. This species currently inhabits boreo‐alpine climates and retracted during previous glaciations into southern refugia, as temperate species. Two clades exhibited enormous geographic expansion that started from two ...