| Abstract Detail
Population Genetics/Genomics Hodel, Richard [1]. Range size, not niche breadth, influences the phylogeographic patterns of montane sedges. Comparative phylogeography, with its focus on concordant genetic structure as a means of identifying the processes shaping communities, is ideal for tests of abiotic factors that override species-specific differences. Alternatively, focus can be centered on the dissimilarity of genomic variation to investigate how differences in species’ attributes shape their evolutionary histories. Here we compare the relative importance of species’ attributes, namely range sizes and niche breadths, in shaping the spatial structure of genetic variation in four sedge species (genus Carex) from the Rocky Mountains, USA. Within two pairs of co-distributed species, one species has a narrow niche breadth, while the other species has a broad niche breadth. Furthermore, one pair of co-distributed species is broadly distributed geographically, while the other co-distributed pair is narrowly distributed. As such, the four species represent a natural experiment to tease apart how these attributes (i.e., range size and niche breadth) affect phylogeographic patterns. Multiple quantitative measures of genetic variation revealed that range size, but not niche breadth, is related to spatial genetic covariation across species of montane sedges. Range size is positively correlated with genetic differentiation and negatively correlated with degree of concordance and isolation by distance (IBD). While patterns of genetic variation do not vary in concerted ways with respect to niche breadth, we found that species with larger range sizes have more variation that can be described by environmental gradients compared to species with smaller range sizes. This study highlights how isolating key attributes across multiple species can lead to insights about their relative importance.
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1 - 411 Olive St. APT 1, 411 Olive St. APT 1, Ypsilanti, MI, 48197, United States
Keywords:
comparative phylogeography
montane
sedges
phylogeography.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: POPGEN1, Population Genetics/Genomics I
Location: Tucson H/Starr Pass
Date: Monday, July 29th, 2019
Time: 10:45 AM
Number: POPGEN1011
Abstract ID:949
Candidate for Awards:Margaret Menzel Award |
