Abstract Detail

Biogeography

Ruiz-Sanchez, Eduardo [1], Specht, Chelsea [1].

Phylogeography and ecological niche modeling of the Mexican endemic shrub Nolina parviflora (Nolinoideae: Asparagaceae).

Nolina parviflora is a Mexican endemic rosette-leaved shrub to tree-like monocot, which ranges along of the Transmexican Volcanic Belt. Its populations extend from Veracruz in the East to Jalisco in the west, with the most northern plants reaching Queretaro and the southern populations extending into Oaxaca. The species inhabits dry tropical and oak forests at its western distribution, but is mostly found in xerophytic scrub, pine-juniper, and pine-oak forests in the central and eastern part of its range. Based upon response to Pleistocene climate change, we formulated the following questions: Do the current populations share haplotypes despite their wide geographical distribution? Does gene flow still exist between eastern and western populations of Nolina parviflora despite their distance, and between the northern and southern populations currently separated by the Transmexican Volcanic Belt? How have populations survived past ecological niche changes? To answer these questions, we collected 25 populations and more than 200 individuals along the geographical distribution and sequenced the trnH-psbA and trnL-F chloroplast spacers from these individuals. Using Bayesian, likelihood and parsimony analysis, we found two clades that have geographic correspondence to the central/eastern and western populations. The northern and the southern populations present unique haplotypes that appear to be related to the central/eastern clade. The current ecological niche models based on these two clades shows overprediction in the western clade and excellent prediction for the eastern clade. Predictions using past climate models showed similar patterns to those of the present. The molecular and ecological results indicate limited gene flow between populations across long distances and across the Transmexican Volcanic Belt.

Broader Impacts:

1 - University of California, Berkeley, Plant and Microbial Biology, 111 Koshland Hall, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA

Keywords:
Nolina parviflora
Ecological niche modeling
gene flow
Mexico
phylogeography
Transmexican Volcanic Belt
haplotype network.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Topics
Session: 05
Location: Lindell A/Chase Park Plaza
Date: Monday, July 11th, 2011
Time: 11:00 AM
Number: 05010
Abstract ID:173