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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Congruent phylogeographical patterns of eight tree species in Atlantic Central Africa provide insights into the past dynamics of forest cover
Molecular Ecology, Volume 23, No. 9, Year 2014
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Description
Cycles of Quaternary climatic change are assumed to be major drivers of African rainforest dynamics and evolution. However, most hypotheses on past vegetation dynamics relied on palaeobotanical records, an approach lacking spatial resolution, and on current patterns of species diversity and endemism, an approach confounding history and environmental determinism. In this context, a comparative phylogeographical study of rainforest species represents a complementary approach because Pleistocene climatic fluctuations may have left interpretable signatures in the patterns of genetic diversity within species. Using 1274 plastid DNA sequences from eight tree species (Afrostyrax kamerunensis, A. lepidophyllus, Erythrophleum suaveolens, Greenwayodendron suaveolens, Milicia excelsa, Santiria trimera, Scorodophloeus zenkeri and Symphonia globulifera) sampled in 50 populations of Atlantic Central Africa (ACA), we averaged divergence across species to produce the first map of the region synthesizing genetic distinctiveness and standardized divergence within and among localities. Significant congruence in divergence was detected mostly among five of the eight species and was stronger in the northern ACA. This pattern is compatible with a scenario of past forest fragmentation and recolonization whereby forests from eastern Cameroon and northeastern Gabon would have been more affected by past climatic change than those of western Cameroon (where one or more refugia would have occurred). By contrast, southern ACA (Gabon) displayed low congruence among species that may reflect less drastic past forest fragmentation or a more complex history of vegetation changes. Finally, we also highlight the potential impact of current environmental barriers on spatial genetic structures. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Authors & Co-Authors
Dauby, Gilles
Belgium, Brussels
Université Libre de Bruxelles
Duminil, Jérôme Ôme
Belgium, Brussels
Université Libre de Bruxelles
Italy, Rome
Bioversity International
Heuertz, Myriam
Belgium, Brussels
Université Libre de Bruxelles
Spain, Madrid
Csic-inia - Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria
Switzerland, Fribourg
University of Fribourg
Koffi, Guillaume Kouame
Belgium, Brussels
Université Libre de Bruxelles
Cote D'ivoire, Abidjan
Universite D'abobo-adjame
Stévart, Tariq
United States, St. Louis
Missouri Botanical Garden
Belgium, Brussels
Université Libre de Bruxelles
Belgium, Meise
Botanic Garden Meise
Hardy, Olivier J.
Belgium, Brussels
Université Libre de Bruxelles
Statistics
Citations: 40
Authors: 6
Affiliations: 7
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1111/mec.12724
ISSN:
09621083
e-ISSN:
1365294X
Research Areas
Environmental
Genetics And Genomics
Study Locations
Cameroon
Gabon