scholarly journals The role of glacial‐interglacial climate change in shaping the genetic structure of eastern subterranean termites in the southern Appalachian Mountains, USA

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 4621-4636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chaz Hyseni ◽  
Ryan C. Garrick
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Genetic Structure ◽  
Appalachian Mountains ◽  
Subterranean Termites ◽  
Southern Appalachian Mountains ◽  
Southern Appalachian

scholarly journals The Role of Glacial-Interglacial Climate Change in Shaping the Genetic Structure of Eastern Subterranean Termites in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, USA

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chaz Hyseni ◽  
Ryan Garrick
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Appalachian Mountains ◽  
Reticulitermes Flavipes ◽  
Population Divergence ◽  
Climatic Fluctuations ◽  
Study Region ◽  
Southern Appalachian Mountains ◽  
The North ◽  
Southern Appalachian ◽  
History Of

The eastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes, currently inhabits previously glaciated regions of the northeastern U.S., as well as the unglaciated southern Appalachian Mountains and surrounding areas. We hypothesized that Pleistocene climatic fluctuations have influenced the distribution of R. flavipes, and thus the evolutionary history of the species. We estimated contemporary and historical geographic distributions of R. flavipes by constructing Species Distribution Models (SDM). We also inferred the evolutionary and demographic history of the species using mitochondrial (cytochrome oxidase I and II) and nuclear (endo-beta-1,4-glucanase) DNA sequence data. To do this, genetic populations were delineated using Bayesian spatial genetic clustering, competing hypotheses about population divergence were assessed using approximate Bayesian computation (ABC), and changes in population size were estimated using Bayesian skyline plots. SDMs identified areas in the north with suitable habitat during the transition from the Last Interglacial to the Last Glacial Maximum, as well as an expanding distribution from the mid-Holocene to the present. Genetic analyses identified three geographically cohesive populations, corresponding with northern, central, and southern portions of the study region. Based on ABC analyses, divergence between the Northern and Southern populations was the oldest, estimated to have occurred 64.80 thousand years ago (kya), which corresponds with the timing of available habitat in the north. The Central and Northern populations diverged in the mid-Holocene, 8.63 kya, after which the Central population continued to expand. Accordingly, phylogeographic patterns of R. flavipes in the southern Appalachians appear to have been strongly influenced by glacial-interglacial climate change.

Phenotypic Variation in Climate-Associated Traits of Red Spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) along Elevation Gradients in the Southern Appalachian Mountains

Castanea ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 128
Author(s):  
John R. Butnor ◽  
Brittany M. Verrico ◽  
Kurt H. Johnsen ◽  
Christopher A. Maier ◽  
Victor Vankus ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phenotypic Variation ◽  
Appalachian Mountains ◽  
Picea Rubens ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Elevation Gradients ◽  
Southern Appalachian Mountains ◽  
Southern Appalachian
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