Lineage diversification and historical demography of a montane bird Garrulax elliotii--implications for the Pleistocene evolutionary history of the eastern Himalayas.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Pleistocene climate fluctuations have shaped the patterns of genetic diversity observed in many extant species. In montane habitats, species' ranges may have expanded and contracted along an altitudinal gradient in response to environmental fluctuations leading to alternating periods of genetic isolation and connectivity. Because species' responses to climate change are influenced by interactions between species-specific characteristics and local topography, diversification pattern differs between species and locations. The eastern Himalayas is one of the world's most prominent mountain ranges. Its complex topography and environmental heterogeneity present an ideal system in which to study how climatic changes during Pleistocene have influenced species distributions, gen

SUBMITTER: Qu Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3150279 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature