Massive transoceanic gene flow in a freshwater turtle (Testudines: Geoemydidae: <i>Mauremys rivulata</i>)

Vamberger, Melita; Stuckas, Heiko; Ayaz, Dinçer; Lymberakis, Petros; Široký, Pavel; Fritz, Uwe

doi:10.1111/zsc.12055

Cited by 22 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…During Pleistocene low sea level stands, the Strait of Gibraltar was only 5 km wide (Zazo, 1999), and even today the sea strait has a width of only approximately 15 km. Transoceanic dispersal, even across much larger distances, has been used to explain the shallow genetic divergence of other freshwater turtle species (Parham et al, 2008;Vamberger et al, 2014Vamberger et al, , 2015. Under this scenario, a first colonization wave (probably during the Pleistocene) would have given rise to the endemic Iberian haplotypes ( fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Out of Africa: did Emys orbicularis occidentalis cross the Strait of Gibraltar twice?

et al. 2015

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The narrow Strait of Gibraltar has separated the African and European continents since the Miocene (5.3 Mya), with a different degree of permeability for Mediterranean taxa. Southern and northern regions of the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco, respectively, are key areas to evaluate the colonization dynamics and biogeographic history of taxa occurring at both sides of this strait. The Ibero-Maghrebian subspecies of the European pond turtle, Emys orbicularis occidentalis, is patchily distributed and threatened throughout most of the Iberian Peninsula and northern Morocco and its origin is thought to be in North Africa. Here we expand the geographic sampling across the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco, with special emphasis in the southern tip of the peninsula and northern Morocco, and analyze mtDNA sequences of 183 E. o. occidentalis to better understand the complex biogeographic history of this subspecies. We provide for the first time evidence for shared haplotypes of Iberian and North African pond turtles, with an additional haplotype in the southern Iberian Peninsula derived from Moroccan haplotypes. This supports the hypothesis that the Strait of Gibraltar constitutes no significant biogeographic barrier for E. orbicularis. However, the newly discovered shared, or extremely similar, haplotypes of European pond turtles from the southern Iberian Peninsula and Morocco suggest either that at least two independent natural colonization waves from Morocco have reached the Iberian Peninsula or that Moroccan turtles were accidentally or deliberately introduced there.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Out of Africa: did Emys orbicularis occidentalis cross the Strait of Gibraltar twice?

et al. 2015

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“…The old Pliocene fossils found in northeastern Iberian Peninsula (de Soler et al ., ) are an example of dubious records for M. leprosa , and thus we cannot unambiguously determine the presence of this species in the Iberian Peninsula. Conversely, the fossils of Middle Pleistocene age (de Lapparent de Broin, ) do not support a very recent arrival in the Iberian Peninsula but massive transoceanic gene flow has been reported for the eastern Mediterranean species M. rivulata (Vamberger et al ., ), making this also likely for M. leprosa . Yet, a series of evidences (i.e.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pleistocene diversification in Morocco and recent demographic expansion in the Mediterranean pond turtleMauremys leprosa

Veríssimo

Znari

Stuckas

et al. 2016

Biol. J. Linn. Soc.

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Quaternary climatic oscillations and geographic barriers have strongly influenced the distribution and diversification of thermophilic species occurring in the Mediterranean Basin. The Western Mediterranean pond turtle, Mauremys leprosa, is widely distributed throughout the Iberian Peninsula, southern France and most of the Maghreb region, with two subspecies currently recognized. In this work, we used 566 samples, including 259 new individuals, across the species range, and sequenced two mitochondrial markers (cytochrome b gene and control region; 163 samples in a concatenated mtDNA dataset) and one nuclear intron (R35; 23 samples representing all identified sublineages) to study the evolutionary history of M. leprosa. We combined phylogenetic methods and phylogeographic continuous diffusion models with spatial analysis. Our results (1) show a high level of genetic structure in Morocco originated during the Pleistocene; (2) reveal two independent population expansion waves from Morocco to Tunisia and to southern Europe, which later expanded throughout the Iberian Peninsula, and (3) identify several secondary contact zones in Morocco. Our study also sheds new light on the role of geographical features (Moroccan mountains ranges and the Strait of Gibraltar) and Pleistocene climatic oscillations in shaping genetic diversity and structure of M. leprosa, and underlines the importance of the Maghreb as a differentiation centre harbouring distinct glacial refugia.

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“…; M. rivulata : Vamberger et al . ). Further research is required to analyse and better understand the factors causing these differences.…”

Section: Conclusion and Implications For Conservationmentioning

confidence: 97%

Differences in gene flow in a twofold secondary contact zone of pond turtles in southern Italy (Testudines: Emydidae:Emys orbicularis galloitalica,E. o. hellenica,E. trinacris)

et al. 2015

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Using virtually range-wide sampling for three pond turtle taxa (Emys orbicularis galloitalica,\ud E. o. hellenica, E. trinacris), we analyse gene flow across their southern Italian contact zone.\ud Based on population genetic analyses of 15 highly polymorphic microsatellite loci and a\ud mitochondrial marker, we show that the general genetic pattern matches well with the current\ud taxon delimitation. Yet, single individuals with conflicting genetic identity suggest\ud translocation of turtles by humans. In addition, we identify in south-western France and the\ud vicinity of Rome populations being heavily impacted by introduced turtles. Cline analyses\ud reveal that the major genetic break between E. o. galloitalica and E. o. hellenica corresponds\ud well with the currently accepted intergradation zone in southern Italy. However, introgression\ud is largely unidirectional from E. o. galloitalica into E. o. hellenica. In the distribution\ud range of the latter subspecies, genetic footprints of E. o. galloitalica are evident along most\ud of the Italian east coast. Our results corroborate that E. o. galloitalica was introduced long\ud ago in Corsica and Sardinia and naturalized there. Gene flow between E. orbicularis and\ud E. trinacris is negligible, with the Strait of Messina matching well with the narrow cline centre\ud between the two species. This contrasts with other Mediterranean freshwater turtle species\ud with extensive transoceanic gene flow. Compared to the two subspecies of E. orbicularis,\ud the Sicilian E. trinacris shows an unexpectedly strong population structuring, a finding\ud also of some relevance for conservation. The differences between the two taxon pairs\ud E. orbicularis/E. trinacris and E. o. galloitalica/E. o. hellenica support their current taxonomic\ud classification and make them attractive objects for follow-up studies to elucidate the\ud underlying mechanisms of speciation by comparing their propertie

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Massive transoceanic gene flow in a freshwater turtle (Testudines: Geoemydidae: Mauremys rivulata)

Cited by 22 publications

References 65 publications

Out of Africa: did Emys orbicularis occidentalis cross the Strait of Gibraltar twice?

Out of Africa: did Emys orbicularis occidentalis cross the Strait of Gibraltar twice?

Pleistocene diversification in Morocco and recent demographic expansion in the Mediterranean pond turtleMauremys leprosa

Differences in gene flow in a twofold secondary contact zone of pond turtles in southern Italy (Testudines: Emydidae:Emys orbicularis galloitalica,E. o. hellenica,E. trinacris)

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