Thriving in the Cold: Glacial Expansion and Post-Glacial Contraction of a Temperate Terrestrial Salamander (Plethodon serratus).

ABSTRACT: The dynamic geologic history of the southeastern United States has played a major role in shaping the geographic distributions of amphibians in the region. In the phylogeographic literature, the predominant pattern of distribution shifts through time of temperate species is one of contraction during glacial maxima and persistence in refugia. However, the diverse biology and ecology of amphibian species suggest that a "one-size-fits-all" model may be inappropriate. Nearly 10% of amphibian species in the region have a current distribution comprised of multiple disjunct, restricted areas that resemble the shape of Pleistocene refugia identified for other temperate taxa in the literature. Here, we apply genetics and spatially explicit climate analyses to test the hypothesis that the disjunct r

SUBMITTER: Newman CE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4488858 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature