Multilocus Analyses Reveal Postglacial Demographic Shrinkage of Juniperus morrisonicola (Cupressaceae), a Dominant Alpine Species in Taiwan.

ABSTRACT: Postglacial climate changes alter geographical distributions and diversity of species. Such ongoing changes often force species to migrate along the latitude/altitude. Altitudinal gradients represent assemblage of environmental, especially climatic, variable factors that influence the plant distributions. Global warming that triggered upward migrations has therefore impacted the alpine plants on an island. In this study, we examined the genetic structure of Juniperus morrisonicola, a dominant alpine species in Taiwan, and inferred historical, demographic dynamics based on multilocus analyses. Lower levels of genetic diversity in north indicated that populations at higher latitudes were vulnerable to climate change, possibly related to historical alpine glaciers. Neither organellar DNA nor

SUBMITTER: Huang CC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4999204 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature