Postglacial recolonizations, watershed crossings and human translocations shape the distribution of chub lineages around the Swiss AlpsReportar como inadecuado

Postglacial recolonizations, watershed crossings and human translocations shape the distribution of chub lineages around the Swiss Alps - Descarga este documento en PDF. Documentación en PDF para descargar gratis. Disponible también para leer online.

BMC Evolutionary Biology

, 16:185

First Online: 09 September 2016Received: 11 April 2016Accepted: 19 August 2016DOI: 10.1186-s12862-016-0750-9

Cite this article as: Gouskov, A. & Vorburger, C. BMC Evol Biol 2016 16: 185. doi:10.1186-s12862-016-0750-9


BackgroundDistributions of European fish species were shaped by glaciations and the geological history of river networks until human activities partially abrogated the restrictions of biogeographical regions. The nearby origins of the Rhine, Rhone, Danube and Po rivers in the Swiss Alps allow the examination of historical and human-influenced patterns in fish genetic structure over a small geographic scale. We investigated these patterns in the widespread European chub Squalius cephalus from the Rhone, Rhine and Danube catchments and its proposed southern sister species Italian chub Squalius squalus from the Po catchment.

ResultsA phylogenetic tree constructed from mitochondrial Cytochrome b and COI sequences was consistent with earlier work in that it showed a separation of European chub and Italian chub, which was also reflected in microsatellite allele frequencies, morphological traits and shape differences quantified by geometric morphometrics. A new finding was that the predominant mitochondrial haplotype of European chub from the Rhine and Rhone catchments was also discovered in some individuals from Swiss populations of the Italian chub, presumably as a result of human translocation. Consistent with postglacial recolonizations from multiple refugia along the major rivers, the nuclear genetic structure of the European chub largely reflected drainage structure, but it was modified by watershed crossings between Rhine and Rhone near Lake Geneva as well as between Danube and Rhine near Lake Constance.

ConclusionOur study adds new insights into the cyprinid colonization history of central Europe by showing that multiple processes shaped the distribution of different chub lineages around the Swiss Alps. Interestingly, we find evidence that cross-catchment migration has been mediated by unusual geological events such as drainage captures or watershed crossings facilitated by retreating glaciers, as well as evidence that human transport has interfered with the historical distribution of these fish European chub haplotypes present in the Italian chub. The desirable preservation of evolutionarily distinct lineages will thus require the prevention of further translocations.

KeywordsChub Drainage capture Human translocations Phylogeography Pleistocene glaciations Squalius Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article doi:10.1186-s12862-016-0750-9 contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Download fulltext PDF

Autor: Alexandre Gouskov - Christoph Vorburger


Documentos relacionados