Sailing through the Late Pleistocene: unusual historical demography of an East Asian endemic, the Chinese Hwamei (Leucodioptron canorum canorum), during the last glacial period

Abstract

Pleistocene climate fluctuations shaped the patterns of genetic diversity observed in extant species. In contrast to Europe and North America where the effects of recent glacial cycles on genetic diversity have been well studied, the genetic legacy of the Late Pleistocene for East Asia, a region of great topographical complexity and presumably milder historical climate, remains poorly understood. We analysed 3.86 kb of the mitochondrial genome of 186 Chinese Hwamei birds, Leucodioptron canorum canorum, and found that contrary to the conventional expectation of population decline during cold periods (stadials), the demographic history of this species shows continuous population growth since the penultimate glacial period (about 170,000 years ago). Refugia were identified in the south, coastal regions, and northern inland areas, implying that topographic complexity played a substantial role in providing suitable habitats for the Chinese Hwamei during cold periods. Intermittent gene flow between these refugia during the warmer periods (interstadials) might have resulted in a large effective population of this bird through the last glacial period.

Species delimitation and biogeography of two fir species (Abies) in central China: cytoplasmic DNA variation

“…Thus, unlike species in North America and Europe, which commonly expanded in range after the last glacial maximum (around 18 kya) (Abbott et al, 2000;Hewitt, 2000;Petit et al, 2003), our results suggested that the last glacial maximum had little impact on the demographic history of the two fir species we studied from central China. This accords with results obtained from recent studies on a few other plants and animals in Asia, such as Dysosma versipellis , Allium przewalskianum (Wu et al, 2010) and Leucodioptron canorum (Li et al, 2009), all of which suggest that the last glacial maximum had a less important effect on the demographic histories of species in this region relative to earlier Pleistocene glaciations.…”

Phylogeographic Patterns of mtDNA Variation Revealed Multiple Glacial Refugia for the Frog Species Feirana taihangnica Endemic to the Qinling Mountains

“…Both changes have profoundly influenced the genetic diversity and dynamic history of organisms in this region (Zhang 1999(Zhang , 2004Zhou 2000;Pinot et al 1999;Qian and Ricklefs 2000;Ju et al 2007). Several genetic surveys discovered that bird and mammal species took refuge in the central and southeastern China rather than being limited to lower latitudes during the Pleistocene ice ages (Song et al 2009;Li et al 2009;You et al 2010). On the other hand, herpetological species retreated into multiple separated refugia in the southern Korean Peninsula and southeastern China during the Pleistocene glacial periods (Zhang et al 2008;Ding et al 2011).…”

“…On the other hand, herpetological species retreated into multiple separated refugia in the southern Korean Peninsula and southeastern China during the Pleistocene glacial periods (Zhang et al 2008;Ding et al 2011). Most of these species have experienced expansion of population size and/or distribution range before the last glacial maximum (LGM; Song et al 2009;Li et al 2009;Zhang et al 2008;Ding et al 2011).…”

“…These topographic features are expected to help maintain significant genetic structure within species. However, limited empirical data (e.g., Song et al 2009;Li et al 2009;Wang et al 2012) restrict our understanding of spatial distribution, lineage sorting, and demography associated with Pleistocene climate changes and tectonic events in this important region.…”

Significance of pre-Quaternary climate change for montane species diversity: Insights from Asian salamanders (Salamandridae: Pachytriton)

“…Among those mountains, Huangshan (site 18), the type locality of P. feii, is located at the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, a region that has been proposed as a Pleistocene refugium for eastern Asian conifers, frogs and non-migratory birds based on patterns of intraspecific genetic variation (Gao et al, 2007;Zhang et al, 2008a;Li et al, 2009). Huangshan is characterized by a heterogeneous topography with numerous high peaks interspersed among low valleys, where refugia may have been abundant and supported habitats with relatively stable microclimates when the global climate underwent major changes (Qian and Ricklefs, 2000;Li et al, 2009;Song et al, 2009). Moreover, nucleotide diversity is highest in the Huangshan population of the Chinese giant salamander and the sharp-snouted pitviper (Murphy et al, 2000;Huang et al, 2007), which further suggests preservation of old gene lineages in this region.…”