Phylogeography and palaeodistribution modelling of Nassauvia subgenus Strongyloma (Asteraceae): exploring phylogeographical scenarios in the Patagonian steppe.

ABSTRACT: The Patagonian steppe is an immense, cold, arid region, yet phylogeographically understudied. Nassauvia subgen. Strongyloma is a characteristic element of the steppe, exhibiting a continuum of morphological variation. This taxon provides a relevant phylogeographical model not only to understand how past environmental changes shaped the genetic structure of its populations, but also to explore phylogeographical scenarios at the large geographical scale of the Patagonian steppe. Here, we (1) assess demographic processes and historical events that shaped current geographic patterns of haplotypic diversity; (2) analyze hypotheses of isolation in refugia, fragmentation of populations, and/or colonization of available areas during Pleistocene glaciations; and (3) model extant and palaeoclimatic

SUBMITTER: Nicola MV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4267866 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature