Phylogeography of the sand dune ant Mycetophylax simplex along the Brazilian Atlantic Forest coast: remarkably low mtDNA diversity and shallow population structure.

ABSTRACT:

Background

During past glacial periods, many species of forest-dwelling animals experienced range contractions. In contrast, species living outside such moist habitats appear to have reacted to Quaternary changes in different ways. The Atlantic Forest represents an excellent opportunity to test phylogeographic hypotheses, because it has a wide range of vegetation types, including unforested habitats covered predominantly by herbaceous and shrubby plants, which are strongly influenced by the harsh environment with strong wind and high insolation. Here, we investigated the distribution of genetic diversity in the endemic sand dune ant Mycetophylax simplex across its known range along the Brazilian coast, with the aim of contributing to the understanding of alternative phylogeographic

SUBMITTER: Cardoso DC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4460702 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature