Cryptic diversity and multiple origins of the widespread mayfly species group Baetis rhodani (Ephemeroptera: Baetidae) on northwestern Mediterranean islands.

ABSTRACT: How the often highly endemic biodiversity of islands originated has been debated for decades, and it remains a fervid research ground. Here, using mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequence analyses, we investigate the diversity, phylogenetic relationships, and evolutionary history of the mayfly Baetis gr. rhodani on the three largest northwestern Mediterranean islands (Sardinia, Corsica, Elba). We identify three distinct, largely co-distributed, and deeply differentiated lineages, with divergences tentatively dated back to the Eocene-Oligocene transition. Bayesian population structure analyses reveal a lack of gene exchange between them, even at sites where they are syntopic, indicating that these lineages belong to three putative species. Their phylogenetic relationships with contine

SUBMITTER: Bisconti R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6093170 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature