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Knox C, Patterson GB, Chapple DG. Oligosoma aureocola sp. nov. (Reptilia: Scincidae) from the northern Southland high country of Aotearoa/New Zealand. Zootaxa 2023; 5285:271-292. [PMID: 37518706 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5285.2.3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023]
Abstract
A species of diurnal skink from the Mataura Range and Mid Dome in central northern Southland, Aotearoa/New Zealand is described as Oligosoma aureocola sp. nov. It is a small species, coloured mid- to dark brown with smooth longitudinal stripes, and lives along rocky alpine ridges, low-stature shrublands, and tussock grasslands. This skink is a conspicuous species, easily sighted basking and foraging in talus or alpine plants such as golden spear grass (Aciphylla aurea).
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - David G Chapple
- School of Biological Sciences; Monash University; Clayton; Victoria 3800; Australia.
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2
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von Seth J, van der Valk T, Lord E, Sigeman H, Olsen RA, Knapp M, Kardailsky O, Robertson F, Hale M, Houston D, Kennedy E, Dalén L, Norén K, Massaro M, Robertson BC, Dussex N. Genomic trajectories of a near-extinction event in the Chatham Island black robin. BMC Genomics 2022; 23:747. [DOI: 10.1186/s12864-022-08963-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2022] [Accepted: 10/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Understanding the micro-evolutionary response of populations to demographic declines is a major goal in evolutionary and conservation biology. In small populations, genetic drift can lead to an accumulation of deleterious mutations, which will increase the risk of extinction. However, demographic recovery can still occur after extreme declines, suggesting that natural selection may purge deleterious mutations, even in extremely small populations. The Chatham Island black robin (Petroica traversi) is arguably the most inbred bird species in the world. It avoided imminent extinction in the early 1980s and after a remarkable recovery from a single pair, a second population was established and the two extant populations have evolved in complete isolation since then. Here, we analysed 52 modern and historical genomes to examine the genomic consequences of this extreme bottleneck and the subsequent translocation.
Results
We found evidence for two-fold decline in heterozygosity and three- to four-fold increase in inbreeding in modern genomes. Moreover, there was partial support for temporal reduction in total load for detrimental variation. In contrast, compared to historical genomes, modern genomes showed a significantly higher realised load, reflecting the temporal increase in inbreeding. Furthermore, the translocation induced only small changes in the frequency of deleterious alleles, with the majority of detrimental variation being shared between the two populations.
Conclusion
Our results highlight the dynamics of mutational load in a species that recovered from the brink of extinction, and show rather limited temporal changes in mutational load. We hypothesise that ancestral purging may have been facilitated by population fragmentation and isolation on several islands for thousands of generations and may have already reduced much of the highly deleterious load well before human arrival and introduction of pests to the archipelago. The majority of fixed deleterious variation was shared between the modern populations, but translocation of individuals with low mutational load could possibly mitigate further fixation of high-frequency deleterious variation.
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McCulloch GA, Waters JM. Phylogenetic divergence of island biotas: Molecular dates, extinction, and "relict" lineages. Mol Ecol 2019; 28:4354-4362. [PMID: 31544990 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2019] [Revised: 07/24/2019] [Accepted: 07/30/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Island formation is a key driver of biological evolution, and several studies have used geological ages of islands to calibrate rates of DNA change. However, many islands are home to "relict" lineages whose divergence apparently pre-dates island age. The geologically dynamic New Zealand (NZ) archipelago sits upon the ancient, largely submerged continent Zealandia, and the origin and age of its distinctive biota have long been contentious. While some researchers have interpreted NZ's biota as equivalent to that of a post-Oligocene island, a recent review of genetic studies identified a sizeable proportion of pre-Oligocene "relict" lineages, concluding that much of the biota survived an incomplete drowning event. Here, we assemble comparable genetic divergence data sets for two recently formed South Pacific archipelagos (Lord Howe; Chatham Islands) and demonstrate similarly substantial proportions of relict lineages. Similar to the NZ biota, our island reviews provide surprisingly little evidence for major genetic divergence "pulses" associated with island emergence. The dominance of Quaternary divergence estimates in all three biotas may highlight the importance of rapid biological turnover and new arrivals in response to recent climatic and/or geological disturbance and change. We provide a schematic model to help account for discrepancies between expected versus observed divergence-date distributions for island biotas, incorporating the effects of both molecular dating error and lineage extinction. We conclude that oceanic islands can represent both evolutionary "cradles" and "museums" and that the presence of apparently archaic island lineages does not preclude dispersal origins.
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Ansari MH, Cooper SJ, Schwarz MP, Ebrahimi M, Dolman G, Reinberger L, Saint KM, Donnellan SC, Bull CM, Gardner MG. Plio-Pleistocene diversification and biogeographic barriers in southern Australia reflected in the phylogeography of a widespread and common lizard species. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2019; 133:107-119. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.12.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2018] [Revised: 12/10/2018] [Accepted: 12/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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Kurita K, Hikida T. Divergence and Long-Distance Overseas Dispersals of Island Populations of the Ryukyu Five-Lined Skink, Plestiodon Marginatus (Scincidae: Squamata), in the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan, as Revealed by Mitochondrial DNA Phylogeography. Zoolog Sci 2014; 31:187-94. [DOI: 10.2108/zs130179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kazuki Kurita
- Department of Zoology, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa-Oiwakecho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
| | - Tsutomu Hikida
- Department of Zoology, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa-Oiwakecho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
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Chapple DG, Ritchie PA. A retrospective approach to testing the DNA barcoding method. PLoS One 2013; 8:e77882. [PMID: 24244283 PMCID: PMC3823873 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0077882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2013] [Accepted: 09/13/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
A decade ago, DNA barcoding was proposed as a standardised method for identifying existing species and speeding the discovery of new species. Yet, despite its numerous successes across a range of taxa, its frequent failures have brought into question its accuracy as a short-cut taxonomic method. We use a retrospective approach, applying the method to the classification of New Zealand skinks as it stood in 1977 (primarily based upon morphological characters), and compare it to the current taxonomy reached using both morphological and molecular approaches. For the 1977 dataset, DNA barcoding had moderate-high success in identifying specimens (78-98%), and correctly flagging specimens that have since been confirmed as distinct taxa (77-100%). But most matching methods failed to detect the species complexes that were present in 1977. For the current dataset, there was moderate-high success in identifying specimens (53-99%). For both datasets, the capacity to discover new species was dependent on the methodological approach used. Species delimitation in New Zealand skinks was hindered by the absence of either a local or global barcoding gap, a result of recent speciation events and hybridisation. Whilst DNA barcoding is potentially useful for specimen identification and species discovery in New Zealand skinks, its error rate could hinder the progress of documenting biodiversity in this group. We suggest that integrated taxonomic approaches are more effective at discovering and describing biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- David G. Chapple
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
- Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Peter A. Ritchie
- Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
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Pugh PJ. Why are there so few “far southern” myriapods? J NAT HIST 2013. [DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2013.791890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Weese DA, Fujita Y, Santos SR. Multiple colonizations lead to cryptic biodiversity in an island ecosystem: comparative phylogeography of anchialine shrimp species in the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan. THE BIOLOGICAL BULLETIN 2013; 225:24-41. [PMID: 24088794 DOI: 10.1086/bblv225n1p24] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Archipelagos of the Indo-West Pacific are considered to be among the richest in the world in biodiversity, and phylogeographic studies generally support either the center of origin or the center of accumulation hypothesis to explain this pattern. To differentiate between these competing hypotheses for organisms from the Indo-West Pacific anchialine ecosystem, defined as coastal bodies of mixohaline water fluctuating with the tides but having no direct oceanic connections, we investigated the genetic variation, population structure, and evolutionary history of three caridean shrimp species (Antecaridina lauensis, Halocaridinides trigonophthalma, and Metabetaeus minutus) in the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan. We used two mitochondrial genes--cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and large ribosomal subunit (16S-rDNA)--complemented with genetic examination of available specimens from the same or closely related species from the Indian and Pacific Oceans. In the Ryukyus, each species encompassed 2-3 divergent (9.52%-19.2% COI p-distance) lineages, each having significant population structure and varying geographic distributions. Phylogenetically, the A. lauensis and M. minutus lineages in the Ryukyus were more closely related to ones from outside the archipelago than to one another. These results, when interpreted in the context of Pacific oceanographic currents and geologic history of the Ryukyus, imply multiple colonizations of the archipelago by the three species, consistent with the center of accumulation hypothesis. While this study contributes toward understanding the biodiversity, ecology, and evolution of organisms in the Ryukyus and the Indo-West Pacific, it also has potential utility in establishing conservation strategies for anchialine fauna of the Pacific Basin in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A Weese
- Department of Biological Sciences and Molette Biology Laboratory for Environmental and Climate Change Studies, Auburn University, 101 Life Sciences Building, Auburn, Alabama 36849
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Chapple DG, Birkett A, Miller KA, Daugherty CH, Gleeson DM. Phylogeography of the endangered Otago skink, Oligosoma otagense: population structure, hybridisation and genetic diversity in captive populations. PLoS One 2012; 7:e34599. [PMID: 22511953 PMCID: PMC3325264 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0034599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2011] [Accepted: 03/07/2012] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Climatic cooling and substantial tectonic activity since the late Miocene have had a pronounced influence on the evolutionary history of the fauna of New Zealand's South Island. However, many species have recently experienced dramatic range reductions due to habitat fragmentation and the introduction of mammalian predators and competitors. These anthropogenic impacts have been particularly severe in the tussock grasslands of the Otago region. The Otago skink (Oligosoma otagense), endemic to the region, is one of the most critically endangered vertebrates in New Zealand. We use mitochondrial DNA sequence data to investigate the evolutionary history of the Otago skink, examine its population genetic structure, and assess the level of genetic diversity in the individuals in the captive breeding program. Our data indicate that the Otago skink diverged from its closest relatives in the Miocene, consistent with the commencement of tectonic uplift of the Southern Alps. However, there is evidence for past introgression with the scree skink (O. waimatense) in the northern Otago-southern Canterbury region. The remnant populations in eastern Otago and western Otago are estimated to have diverged in the mid-Pliocene, with no haplotypes shared between these two regions. This divergence accounts for 95% of the genetic diversity in the species. Within both regions there is strong genetic structure among populations, although shared haplotypes are generally evident between adjacent localities. Although substantial genetic diversity is present in the captive population, all individuals originate from the eastern region and the majority had haplotypes that were not evident in the intensively managed populations at Macraes Flat. Our data indicate that eastern and western populations should continue to be regarded as separate management units. Knowledge of the genetic diversity of the breeding stock will act to inform the captive management of the Otago skink and contribute to a key recovery action for the species.
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Affiliation(s)
- David G Chapple
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
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Araúz PA, Peris-Bondia F, Latorre A, Serra L, Mestres F. Molecular evidence to suggest the origin of a colonization: Drosophila subobscura in America. Genetica 2012; 139:1477-86. [PMID: 22481521 DOI: 10.1007/s10709-012-9647-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2011] [Accepted: 03/26/2012] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
The recent colonization of America by Drosophila subobscura represents a great opportunity for evolutionary biology studies. Knowledge of the populations from which the colonization started would provide an understanding of how genetic composition changed during adaptation to the new environment. Thus, a 793 nucleotide fragment of the Odh (Octanol dehydrogenase) gene was sequenced in 66 chromosomal lines from Barcelona (western Mediterranean) and in 66 from Mt. Parnes (Greece, eastern Mediterranean). No sequence of Odh fragment in Barcelona or Mt. Parnes was identical to any of those previously detected in America. However, an Odh sequence from Barcelona differed in only one nucleotide from another found in American populations. In both cases, the chromosomal lines presented the same inversion: O(7), and the Odh gene was located within this inversion. This evidence suggests a possible western Mediterranean origin for the colonization. Finally, the molecular and inversion data indicate that the colonization was not characterized by multiple reintroductions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedro A Araúz
- Departament de Genètica, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 643, Barcelona, Spain
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Guilbert E. Biogeography of the Cantacaderinae Stål (Insecta:Heteroptera:Tingidae) revisited. INVERTEBR SYST 2012. [DOI: 10.1071/is12010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
The biogeographic relationships among the Cantacaderinae (Heteroptera) are revisited in the light of a genus and species recently described. The results are reasonably congruent with previous studies, but with some differences. The common ancestor of Cantacaderinae may not be restricted to Australia but to a more widely distributed taxon. The Cantacaderinae evolved into two lineages: the Ceratocaderini + Carldrakeanini, originating in the Australia–New Zealand complex; and the Cantacaderini, originating in the Oriental region and dispersing through a south-eastern arc of continental fragments but not through the Asian peninsula.
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Goldberg J, Trewick SA. Exploring Phylogeographic Congruence in a Continental Island System. INSECTS 2011; 2:369-99. [PMID: 26467734 PMCID: PMC4553550 DOI: 10.3390/insects2030369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2011] [Revised: 07/04/2011] [Accepted: 07/11/2011] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
A prediction in phylogeographic studies is that patterns of lineage diversity and timing will be similar within the same landscape under the assumption that these lineages have responded to past environmental changes in comparable ways. Eight invertebrate taxa from four different orders were included in this study of mainland New Zealand and Chatham Islands lineages to explore outcomes of island colonization. These comprised two orthopteran genera, one an endemic forest-dwelling genus of cave weta (Rhaphidophoridae, Talitropsis) and the other a grasshopper (Acrididae, Phaulacridum) that inhabits open grassland; four genera of Coleoptera including carabid beetles (Mecodema), stag beetles (Geodorcus), weevils (Hadramphus) and clickbeetles (Amychus); the widespread earwig genus Anisolabis (Dermaptera) that is common on beaches in New Zealand and the Chatham Islands, and an endemic and widespread cockroach genus Celatoblatta (Blattodea). Mitochondrial DNA data were used to reconstruct phylogeographic hypotheses to compare among these taxa. Strikingly, despite a maximum age of the Chathams of ∼4 million years there is no concordance among these taxa, in the extent of genetic divergence and partitioning between Chatham and Mainland populations. Some Chatham lineages are represented by insular endemics and others by haplotypes shared with mainland populations. These diverse patterns suggest that combinations of intrinsic (taxon ecology) and extrinsic (extinction and dispersal) factors can result in apparently very different biogeographic outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Goldberg
- Phoenix Lab, Ecology Group, Institute of Natural Resources, Massey University, Private Bag 11-222, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
| | - Steven A Trewick
- Phoenix Lab, Ecology Group, Institute of Natural Resources, Massey University, Private Bag 11-222, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
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Chapple DG, Hoskin CJ, Chapple SNJ, Thompson MB. Phylogeographic divergence in the widespread delicate skink (Lampropholis delicata) corresponds to dry habitat barriers in eastern Australia. BMC Evol Biol 2011; 11:191. [PMID: 21726459 PMCID: PMC3141439 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-11-191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2011] [Accepted: 07/04/2011] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The mesic habitats of eastern Australia harbour a highly diverse fauna. We examined the impact of climatic oscillations and recognised biogeographic barriers on the evolutionary history of the delicate skink (Lampropholis delicata), a species that occurs in moist habitats throughout eastern Australia. The delicate skink is a common and widespread species whose distribution spans 26° of latitude and nine major biogeographic barriers in eastern Australia. Sequence data were obtained from four mitochondrial genes (ND2, ND4, 12SrRNA, 16SrRNA) for 238 individuals from 120 populations across the entire native distribution of the species. The evolutionary history and diversification of the delicate skink was investigated using a range of phylogenetic (Maximum Likelihood, Bayesian) and phylogeographic analyses (genetic diversity, ΦST, AMOVA, Tajima's D, Fu's F statistic). RESULTS Nine geographically structured, genetically divergent clades were identified within the delicate skink. The main clades diverged during the late Miocene-Pliocene, coinciding with the decline and fragmentation of rainforest and other wet forest habitats in eastern Australia. Most of the phylogeographic breaks within the delicate skink were concordant with dry habitat or high elevation barriers, including several recognised biogeographic barriers in eastern Australia (Burdekin Gap, St Lawrence Gap, McPherson Range, Hunter Valley, southern New South Wales). Genetically divergent populations were also located in high elevation topographic isolates inland from the main range of L. delicata (Kroombit Tops, Blackdown Tablelands, Coolah Tops). The species colonised South Australia from southern New South Wales via an inland route, possibly along the Murray River system. There is evidence for recent expansion of the species range across eastern Victoria and into Tasmania, via the Bassian Isthmus, during the late Pleistocene. CONCLUSIONS The delicate skink is a single widespread, but genetically variable, species. This study provides the first detailed phylogeographic investigation of a widespread species whose distribution spans virtually all of the major biogeographic barriers in eastern Australia.
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Affiliation(s)
- David G Chapple
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia.
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Heads M. Old Taxa on Young Islands: A Critique of the Use of Island Age to Date Island-Endemic Clades and Calibrate Phylogenies. Syst Biol 2010; 60:204-18. [DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syq075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Michael Heads
- Buffalo Museum of Science, 1020 Humboldt Parkway, Buffalo, NY 14211-1293, USA
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Hitchmough RA, Hoare JM, Jamieson H, Newman D, Tocher MD, Anderson PJ, Lettink M, Whitaker AH. Conservation status of New Zealand reptiles, 2009. NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY 2010. [DOI: 10.1080/03014223.2010.496487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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BUCKLEY THOMASR, MARSKE KATHARINEA, ATTANAYAKE DILINI. Identifying glacial refugia in a geographic parthenogen using palaeoclimate modelling and phylogeography: the New Zealand stick insectArgosarchus horridus(White). Mol Ecol 2009; 18:4650-63. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294x.2009.04396.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Chapple DG, Ritchie PA, Daugherty CH. Origin, diversification, and systematics of the New Zealand skink fauna (Reptilia: Scincidae). Mol Phylogenet Evol 2009; 52:470-87. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2009.03.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2008] [Revised: 02/17/2009] [Accepted: 03/25/2009] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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King CM, Chapple DG, Hitchmough RA, Jewell T. Dynamic taxonomy versus field identification: A dilemma for New Zealand herpetologists. NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY 2009. [DOI: 10.1080/03014220909510140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Goldberg J, Trewick SA, Paterson AM. Evolution of New Zealand's terrestrial fauna: a review of molecular evidence. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2008; 363:3319-34. [PMID: 18782728 PMCID: PMC2607375 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2008.0114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
New Zealand biogeography has been dominated by the knowledge that its geophysical history is continental in nature. The continental crust (Zealandia) from which New Zealand is formed broke from Gondwanaland ca 80 Ma, and there has existed a pervading view that the native biota is primarily a product of this long isolation. However, molecular studies of terrestrial animals and plants in New Zealand indicate that many taxa arrived since isolation of the land, and that diversification in most groups is relatively recent. This is consistent with evidence for species turnover from the fossil record, taxonomic affinity, tectonic evidence and observations of biological composition and interactions. Extinction, colonization and speciation have yielded a biota in New Zealand which is, in most respects, more like that of an oceanic archipelago than a continent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Goldberg
- Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolution, Institute of Molecular Biosciences, Massey University, Private Bag 11-222, Palmerston North 5301, New Zealand.
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22
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Liggins L, Chapple DG, Daugherty CH, Ritchie PA. A SINE of restricted gene flow across the Alpine Fault: phylogeography of the New Zealand common skink (Oligosoma nigriplantare polychroma). Mol Ecol 2008; 17:3668-83. [PMID: 18662221 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294x.2008.03864.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
New Zealand has experienced a complex climatic and geological history since the Pliocene. Thus, identifying the processes most important in having driven the evolution of New Zealand's biota has proven difficult. Here we examine the phylogeography of the New Zealand common skink (Oligosoma nigriplantare polychroma) which is distributed throughout much of New Zealand and crosses many putative biogeographical boundaries. Using mitochondrial DNA sequence data, we revealed five geographically distinct lineages that are highly differentiated (pairwise Phi(ST) 0.54-0.80). The phylogeographical pattern and inferred age of the lineages suggests Pliocene mountain building along active fault lines promoted their divergence 3.98-5.45 million years ago. A short interspersed nuclear element (SINE) polymorphism in the myosin gene intron (MYH-2) confirmed a pattern of restricted gene flow between lineages on either side of the mountain ranges associated with the Alpine Fault that runs southwest to northeast across the South Island of New Zealand. An analysis of molecular variance confirmed that approximately 40% of the genetic differentiation in O. n. polychroma is distributed across this major fault line. The straits between the main islands of New Zealand accounted for much less of the variation found within O. n. polychroma, most likely due to the repeated existence of landbridges between islands during periods of the Pleistocene that allowed migration. Overall, our findings reveal the relative roles of different climatic and geological processes, and in particular, demonstrate the importance of the Alpine Fault in the evolution of New Zealand's biota.
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Affiliation(s)
- Libby Liggins
- Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand.
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