Biogeographical and evolutionary importance of the European high mountain systems

Abstract

Europe is characterised by several high mountain systems dominating major parts of its area, and these structures have strongly influenced the evolution of taxa. For species now restricted to these high mountain systems, characteristic biogeographical patterns of differentiation exist. (i) Many local endemics are found in most of the European high mountain systems especially in the Alps and the more geographically peripheral regions of Europe. Populations isolated in these peripheral mountain ranges often have strongly differentiated endemic genetic lineages, which survived and evolved in the vicinity of these mountain areas over long time periods. (ii) Populations of taxa with wide distributions in the Alps often have two or more genetic lineages, which in some cases even have the status of cryptic species. In many cases, these lineages are the results of several centres of glacial survival in the perialpine areas. Similar patterns also apply to the other geographically extended European high mountain systems, especially the Pyrenees and Carpathians. (iii) Populations from adjoining high mountain systems often show similar genetic lineages, a phenomenon best explained by postglacial retreat to these mountains from one single differentiation centre between them. (iv) The populations of a number of species show gradients of genetic diversity from a genetically richer East to a poorer West. This might indicate better glacial survival conditions for this biogeographical group of species in the more eastern parts of Europe.

The phylogeography of an alpine leaf beetle: Divergence within Oreina elongata spans several ice ages

“…Peripheral refugia in the southwestern and southern Alps have also been suggested for the mountain ringlet, Erebia epiphron (Schmitt et al, 2006), and the caddisfly, Drusus discolor (Pauls et al, 2006). O. elongata therefore joins the list of high altitude plant and animal species that appear to have survived glacial periods close to their current distribution (Schmitt, 2009). The phylogeography presented here indicates that divergence of the major clades occurred between 1 and 0.3 million years ago, suggesting that O. elongata survived the Quaternary within or at the edge of the Alps and Apennines.…”

“…Whilst these patterns have been well documented for many lowland species, much less is known about the influence of ice ages on high altitude animals (Pauls et al, 2006;Schmitt et al, 2006;Haubrich and Schmitt, 2007;Schmitt, 2009). They provide a contrast with the lowland taxa, since the current warm climate represents a period in which their range has probably contracted.…”

Are the Pyrenees a barrier for the transport of birch (Betula) pollen from Central Europe to the Iberian Peninsula?

“…It is well known that the orography of the European mountain systems has been a strong influence on the biogeography and evolution of mountain and high latitude species (Schmitt, 2009;Karrer et al, 2015). The Pyrenean chain is a major mountain range in SW Europe.…”

Diversification of Cerastium sylvaticum and C. subtriflorum on the margin of the south-eastern Alps

“…The south-eastern Alps and the southerly adjacent areas have been considered an important refugium for Alpine biota during Pleistocene glaciations (Tribsch and Schönswetter 2003;Schmitt 2009) as the southern margin of the Eastern Alps was not entirely covered with an ice sheet during the Last Glacial Maximum, thus enabling the survival of plant species (Tribsch and Schönswetter 2003;Schönswetter et al 2005;Alvarez et al 2009). As in other glacial refugia in the Alps (Pawłowski 1970;Tribsch and Schönswetter 2003), also the south-eastern Alps harbour many endemic species; more than 60 endemic plant taxa have been listed for this area (Mayer 1960a, b;Wraber 1990), for instance Aconitum angustifolium Bernh.…”