Physical and ecological isolation contribute to maintain genetic differentiation between fire salamander subspecies.

ABSTRACT: Landscape features shape patterns of gene flow among populations, ultimately determining where taxa lay along the continuum between panmixia to complete reproductive isolation. Gene flow can be restricted, leading to population differentiation in two non-exclusive ways: "physical isolation", in which geographic distance in combination with the landscape features restricts movement of individuals promoting genetic drift, and "ecological isolation", in which adaptive mechanisms constrain gene flow between different environments via divergent natural selection. In central Iberia, two fire salamander subspecies occur in parapatry across elevation gradients along the Iberian Central System mountains, while in the adjacent Montes de Toledo Region only one of them occurs. By integrating populatio

SUBMITTER: Antunes B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8102559 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature