Plant colonization of the North Atlantic raises the intriguing question of the relationships between extant island species with their continental counterparts (European, African, and American), which may provide clues to past geographic distribution and colonization history. It has been suggested that during past glaciations, many plant species with typical Mediterranean distributions survived in the Atlantic islands that belong to what is today known as Macronesia. We used random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers to study 12 populations of the liverwort Porella canariensis partly covering its present-day distribution (Azores, Madeira, Canary and Cape Verde Islands, and Iberian Peninsula). Unweighted pair-group (UPGMA) and principal component (PCO) analyses showed a similar geographical pattern that suggested a close relationship between Iberian populations and those from the Canaries and Cape Verde Islands. Populations from Madeira had more genetic variation than those from the Azores, a result from either a richer diversity of habitats in Madeira, which prompted more population diversification, successive colonization waves from different origins, or an older colonization of Madeira. The data show that continuous patches of liverworts are often comprised of more than one individual. Finally, RAPDs can be used to investigate intraspecific diversity within a comparatively large geographic area and, with utmost care, can be used to infer a historic context to explain the patterns observed.
-Genetic differentiation among nine populations of the endemic lizard Lacerta dugesii Milne-Edwards 1829 (Lacertidae) from four groups of islands constituting the Archipelago of Madeira, was investigated by protein electrophoresis at 23 enzyme loci. Among twenty polymorphic loci, the total genetic diversity was due primarily to intra-population variation. The allele and genotypic frequencies among populations showed some heterogeneity, allowing the species to present a structuring pattern compatible with their geographical clustering. Some evidence suggests that selection acting on some loci in different ecological conditions may be responsible for the clustering of the populations studied. There was no apparent isolation effect expected under an "island" model of population divergence, and no correlation was found between genetic and geographic distances among populations. Morphological variation of the proposed three L. dugesii subspecies is not congruent with the allozyme analysis. This most probably suggests a rapid colonization of the islands followed by a strong effect of selection operating over the morphological characters used to define the subspecies.Lacerta dugesii / allozymes / morphology / geographical population structure * Correspondence and reprints E-mail: brehm@uma.pt 672 A. Brehm et al.
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