Combining distribution modelling and phylogeography to understand present, past and future of an endangered spider.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Understanding how endangered species respond to climatic changes is fundamental for their conservation. Due to its restricted geographic range, its sensitivity to the ongoing global warming and its continuing decline, the Southwestern-Alpine endemic wolf spider Vesubia jugorum is currently classified as Endangered in the IUCN Red List. Here, we combined species distribution modelling (SDM) and phylogeographic inference to describe the present, the past and the future of this species in light of the mtDNA genetic structure of extant populations.

Results

Phylogenetic and network analyses show a high level of genetic differentiation and a strong genetic structure of the populations, likely explicable by a long history of isolation and survival in separate refugia. Th

SUBMITTER: Milano F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11299272 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature