Individualistic evolutionary responses of Central African rain forest plants to Pleistocene climatic fluctuations.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the evolutionary dynamics of genetic diversity is fundamental for species conservation in the face of climate change, particularly in hyper-diverse biomes. Species in a region may respond similarly to climate change, leading to comparable evolutionary dynamics, or individualistically, resulting in dissimilar patterns. The second-largest expanse of continuous tropical rain forest (TRF) in the world is found in Central Africa. Here, present-day patterns of genetic structure are thought to be dictated by repeated expansion and contraction of TRFs into and out of refugia during Pleistocene climatic fluctuations. This refugia model implies a common response to past climate change. However, given the unrivalled diversity of TRFs, species could respond differently because of distinc

SUBMITTER: Helmstetter AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7768702 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature