Use of multiple markers demonstrates a cryptic western refugium and postglacial colonisation routes of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) in Northwest Europe.

ABSTRACT: Glacial and postglacial processes are known to be important determinants of contemporary population structuring for many species. In Europe, refugia in the Italian, Balkan and Iberian peninsulas are believed to be the main sources of species colonising northern Europe after the glacial retreat; however, there is increasing evidence of small, cryptic refugia existing north of these for many cold-tolerant species. This study examined the glacial history of Atlantic salmon in western Europe using two independent classes of molecular markers, microsatellites (nuclear) and mitochondrial DNA variation. Alongside the well-documented refuge in the Iberian Peninsula, evidence for a cryptic refuge in northwest France is also presented. Critically, methods utilised to estimate divergence times betwee

SUBMITTER: Finnegan AK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3692316 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature