Thamnolia tundrae sp. nov., a cryptic species and putative glacial relict

2018 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ioana ONUT-BRÄNNSTRÖM ◽  
Hanna JOHANNESSON ◽  
Leif TIBELL

AbstractThe lichen species of the genus Thamnolia, with their striking wormlike thalli and frequent occurrence in arctic and tundra environments, have often been debated with regard to the use of chemistry in lichen taxonomy. Phylogenetic studies have arrived at different conclusions as to the recognition of species in the genus, but in a recent study based on the analyses of six nuclear markers (genes or noncoding regions) of a worldwide sample of Thamnolia, we showed the existence of three well-supported lineages with two different chemistries and geographical distributions. Here, we present two analyses based on ITS and three markers, respectively, which were extended from the study mentioned above to include type specimens and additional Thamnolia strains and taxa. In these analyses the same three clades were retrieved. A putative DEAD-box helicase is used here for the first time as an informative phylogenetic marker to provide taxonomic resolution at species level. The distribution of morphological and chemical characters across the phylogeny was analyzed and it was concluded that three morphologically cryptic, but genetically well supported, species occur: T. vermicularis s. str., T. subuliformis s. str. and T. tundrae sp. nov. Thamnolia vermicularis s. str. contains individuals with uniform secondary chemistry (producing thamnolic acid) and a rather limited distribution in the European Alps, Tatra Mts and the Western Carpathians, a distribution which might result from glacial survival in an adjacent refugium/refugia. Thamnolia subuliformis s. str. is widely distributed in all hemispheres and the samples contain two chemotypes (either with thamnolic or squamatic acids). Thamnolia tundrae is described as new; it produces baeomycesic and squamatic acids, and has a distribution limited to the arctic tundra of Eurasia extending to the Aleutian Islands in North America. It may have survived the latest glaciation in coastal refugia near its present distribution. Thus, secondary chemistry alone is not suitable for characterizing species in Thamnolia, secondary chemistry and geographical origin are informative, and the ITS region can be confidently used for species recognition. Nomenclatural notes are given on several other names that have been used in Thamnolia.

MycoKeys ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 61 ◽  
pp. 39-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilia Ossowska ◽  
Beata Guzow-Krzemińska ◽  
Marta Kolanowska ◽  
Katarzyna Szczepańska ◽  
Martin Kukwa

To evaluate the importance of morphological and chemical characters used in the recognition of species within the Parmelia omphalodes group, we performed phylogenetic, morphological and chemical analyses of 335 specimens, of which 34 were used for molecular analyses. Phylogenetic analyses, based on ITS rDNA sequences, show that P. pinnatifida is distinct from P. omphalodes and the most important difference between those species is the development of pseudocyphellae. In P. pinnatifida, they are mostly marginal and form white rims along lobes margins, but laminal pseudocyphellae can develop in older parts of thalli and are predominantly connected with marginal pseudocyphellae. In contrast, in P. omphalodes laminal pseudocyphellae are common and are predominantly not connected to marginal pseudocyphellae. Chemical composition of secondary lichen metabolites in both analysed species is identical and therefore this feature is not diagnostic in species recognition. Few samples of P. discordans, species morphologically similar to P. omphalodes and P. pinnatifida, were also included in the analyses and they are nested within the clade of P. omphalodes, despite the different chemistry (protocetraric acid present versus salazinic acid in P. omphalodes). All taxa of the P. omphalodes group occupy similar niches, but their potential distributions are wider than those currently known. The absence of specimens in some localities may be limited by the photobiont availability. Parmelia omphalodes and P. pinnatifida are moderately selective in photobiont choice as they form associations with at least two or three lineages of Trebouxia clade S. Parmelia pinnatifida, as well as P. discordans are associated with Trebouxia OTU S02 which seems to have a broad ecological amplitude. Other lineages of Trebouxia seem to be rarer, especially Trebouxia sp. OTU S04, which is sometimes present in P. pinnatifida. This study indicates the importance of extensive research including morphology, chemistry and analysis of molecular markers of both bionts in taxonomical studies of lichens.


Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 146
Author(s):  
Natascha D. Wagner ◽  
Li He ◽  
Elvira Hörandl

The genus Salix (willows), with 33 species, represents the most diverse genus of woody plants in the European Alps. Many species dominate subalpine and alpine types of vegetation. Despite a long history of research on willows, the evolutionary and ecological factors for this species richness are poorly known. Here we will review recent progress in research on phylogenetic relationships, evolution, ecology, and speciation in alpine willows. Phylogenomic reconstructions suggest multiple colonization of the Alps, probably from the late Miocene onward, and reject hypotheses of a single radiation. Relatives occur in the Arctic and in temperate Eurasia. Most species are widespread in the European mountain systems or in the European lowlands. Within the Alps, species differ ecologically according to different elevational zones and habitat preferences. Homoploid hybridization is a frequent process in willows and happens mostly after climatic fluctuations and secondary contact. Breakdown of the ecological crossing barriers of species is followed by introgressive hybridization. Polyploidy is an important speciation mechanism, as 40% of species are polyploid, including the four endemic species of the Alps. Phylogenomic data suggest an allopolyploid origin for all taxa analyzed so far. Further studies are needed to specifically analyze biogeographical history, character evolution, and genome evolution of polyploids.


Genome ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Hsiao ◽  
N. J. Chatterton ◽  
K. H. Asay ◽  
K. B. Jensen

Phylogenetic relationships of 30 diploid species of Triticeae (Poaceae) representing 19 genomes were estimated from the sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of nuclear ribosomal DNA. The ITS sequence phylogeny indicated that: (i) each genome group of species is monophyletic, concordant with cytogenetic evidence; (ii) Hordeum (I) and Critesion (H) are basal; (iii) Australopyrum (W) is closely related to Agropyron (P); (iv) Peridictyon (G), Heteranthelium (Q), and Dasypyrum (V) are closely related to Pseudoroegneria (S); (v) most of the annuals, Triticum s.l. (A, B, D), Crithopsis (K), Taeniatherum (T), Eremopyrum (F), Henrardia (O), Secale (R), and two perennials, Thinopyrum (J) and Lophopyrum (E), all of Mediterranean origin, are a monophyletic group. However, phylogenetic trees based on morphology group these Mediteranean species with various perennial lineages of the Arctic-temperate region. The molecular data and biogeography of the tribe suggest that the Mediterranean lineage is derived from the Arctic-temperate lineage and that the two lineages have evolved in parallel. Extensive morphological parallelism apparently obscures the true genealogical history of the tribe when only morphology is considered.Key words: Poaceae, Triticeae, rDNA sequence, molecular phylogeny, parallel evolution.


Author(s):  
Toke T. Høye ◽  
Sarah Loboda ◽  
Amanda M. Koltz ◽  
Mark A. K. Gillespie ◽  
Joseph J. Bowden ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTTime-series data on arthropod populations are critical for understanding the magnitude, direction, and drivers of abundance changes. However, most arthropod monitoring programs are short-lived and limited in taxonomic resolution and spatial extent. Consequently, variation in population dynamics among taxa and habitats remains poorly understood. Monitoring data from the Arctic are particularly underrepresented, yet important to assessments of species abundance changes because many anthropogenic drivers of change that are present in other regions are absent in polar regions. Here, we utilise 24 years of abundance data from Zackenberg in High-Arctic Greenland, which is the longest running Arctic arthropod monitoring program, to study temporal trends in abundance. Despite a strong warming signal in air temperature, we only find evidence of weak temporal trends in arthropod abundances across most taxa. These trends are more pronounced in the most recent decade, with change point analyses suggesting distinct non-linear dynamics within some functional groups such as predators and detritivores. Although the abundances of many taxa were correlated, we detected both positive and negative correlations, suggesting that multiple processes are affecting arthropod populations even in this relatively simple Arctic food web. Finally, we found clear differences among species within single families of arthropods, indicating that an apparent lack of change in abundance at broader taxonomic or functional levels could mask substantial species-specific trends. Our results reiterate the need for more basic research into the life-history, ecology, and adaptation of arthropod species to better understand their sensitivity to global changes.Significance statementTerrestrial arthropods, including insects and spiders, serve critical ecosystem functions and are excellent indicators of environmental change due to their physiology, short generation time, and abundance. The Arctic, with its rapid climate change and limited direct anthropogenic impact, is ideal for examining arthropod population dynamics. We use the most comprehensive, standardized dataset available on Arctic arthropods to evaluate the variability in population dynamics for the most common arthropod groups at various taxonomic levels across 24 years. Our results highlight that temporal trends of arthropod populations seem less directional in the Arctic than in temperate regions. Although abundances of some arthropod taxa are declining, particularly in recent decades, population trends still display high variation among time periods, taxa, and habitats.


Botany ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 90 (8) ◽  
pp. 770-779 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annie Archambault ◽  
Martina V. Strömvik

Species of the genus Oxytropis are distributed in the northern hemisphere, especially in alpine and arctic areas. Although comprehensive taxonomic treatments exist for local floras, an understanding of the evolutionary relationships is lacking for the genus as a whole. To determine if different ancestral Oxytropis species colonized the North American Arctic separately, as suggested by taxonomy, we sequenced the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region from 16 Oxytropis specimens, including four species that were used in a previous transcriptome study. In addition, 81 other Oxytropis ITS sequences were retrieved from public sequence databases and included in the analysis. The whole data set was analyzed using phylogenetic trees and statistical parsimony networks. Results show that all Oxytropis ITS sequences are very similar. Furthermore, at least six lineages evolved from different temperate ancestors to colonize the North American Arctic. This pattern is believed to be typical of the arctic flora. Additionally, the sequence relationship analyses confirm that the subgenus Phacoxytropis may be ancestral in Oxytropis.


2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 998-1007
Author(s):  
N. V. Gordeeva ◽  
A. V. Drits ◽  
M. V. Flint

The diversity, phylogenetic relationship and demographic history in glacial relict copepod, Limnocalanus macrurus from estuaries of large Siberian Arctic rivers Ob, Khatanga, Lena, Indigirka and Kolyma were studied using of mitochondrial cytochrome-oxidase c gene (CO I mtDNA). It was shown, that Siberian populations of Limnocalanus macrurus together with ones from Canadian Arctic and the Baltic Sea belong to the single Palearctic phylogenetic lineage, which probably survived in one refugium during the Last Glacial Maximum and then rapidly expand within the Arctic about 21 0007500 years ago. The presence of common haplotypes in L. macrurus from three Arctic seas and lack of differences in haplotypic frequencies may be caused recent origin of populations or present day genetic exchange between them.


2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
THOMAS KIEBACHER ◽  
HERIBERT KÖCKINGER ◽  
HANS H. BLOM

Schistidium foraminis-martini is described as a new species from the Austrian and Swiss Alps. The taxon is characterized by a warm brown coloration, ovate, concave and muticous leaves with rounded apices, ellipsoid capsules, constricted at mouth, the presence of stomata and a reduced, truncate peristome. Based on sequences of the ITS region the new species is phylogenetically rather isolated, exhibiting the closest relationship to S. agassizii which shares the muticous leaves but differs in having narrowly lingulate-lanceolate, almost flat leaves, cyathiform capsules and a perfect peristome. Schistidium foraminis-martini grows on moist calcareous rocks in the alpine and nival belt.


Zootaxa ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 2636 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
KURT AUFFENBERG ◽  
KENNETH L. KRYSKO ◽  
HAFIZUR REHMAN

The taxonomy of Eurasian angular or thin-toed geckos has undergone a great deal of revision over the last 30 years. However, it is clear that a desirable level of taxonomic resolution has not yet been attained as their taxonomic assignments are somewhat arbitrary. In this paper, we discuss two lesser-known gecko species, Cyrtopodion baturense (Khan and Baig 1992) and C. walli (Ingoldby 1922). One adult specimen of Cyrtopodion baturense (the only known specimen other than the type series) and a series of 53 C. walli collected by Walter Auffenberg and the Zoological Survey Department of Pakistan (ZSD) and subsequently deposited in the University of Florida Herpetology collection were compared to the type specimens. Specimens were examined for 46 morphological characters and measurements. Cyrtopodion baturense and C. walli are diagnosable and confirmed to be distinct species. Cyrtopodion baturense is known only from the holotype locality of Pasu and the nearby village of Dih, Hunza District, in the Gilgit Agency, Federally Administered Northern Areas (FANA), Pakistan, at 2,438–3,078 m elevations. Cyrtopodion walli is known from Ayun, Chitral, Bamburet Valley, Bermoghluscht, Drosh Tehsil, and 7.0 km N Drosh, in the Chitral District, Northwest Frontier, Pakistan, at 1,970–2,120 m elevations. We also conclude that the likely paratype (BMNH 1922.5.22.1) of Gymnodactylus walli is not conspecific with the holotype (BMNH 1910.7.12.1) and is most morphologically similar to Cyrtopodion tibetanus (Boulenger 1905). We concur with Khan (1992), based on our own examination of the syntype of Gymnodactylus chitralensis Smith, 1935, that G. chitralensis is a junior synonym of Gymnodactylus walli Ingoldby, 1922. Furthermore, the tail associated with the holotype of G. walli does not belong to that individual.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofia Ribeiro ◽  
Sara Hardardottir ◽  
Jessica Louise Ray ◽  
Stijn De Schepper ◽  
Audrey Limoges ◽  
...  

<p>As we move towards a “blue” Arctic Ocean in the summer within the next decades, predicting the full range of effects of climate change on the marine arctic environment remains a challenge. This is partly due to the paucity of long-term data on ocean-biosphere-cryosphere interactions over time and partly because, today, much of our knowledge on past ocean variability derives from microfossil and biogeochemical tracers that all have considerable limitations such as preservation biases and low taxonomic resolution or coverage.</p><p>Recent studies have revealed sedaDNA as a potential “game-changer” in our ability to reconstruct past ocean conditions, due to the preservation of DNA at low temperatures, and the possibility to capture a much larger fraction of the Arctic marine biome diversity than with classical approaches. However, while sedaDNA has been used in terrestrial, archeological, and lake studies for some years, its application to marine sediment records is still in its infancy.</p><p>Here, we will present new results from material recently collected along the two Arctic Ocean outflow shelves off Greenland (Greenland Sea/Fram Strait and Northern Baffin Bay/Nares Strait). We have used a combination of modern and ancient DNA methods applied to seawater, surface sediments, and sediment cores covering the past ca. 12 000 years with the objectives of: 1) characterizing the vertical export of sea ice-associated genetic material through the water column and into the sediments following sea ice melt and 2) exploring the potential of sedaDNA from the circum-polar sea ice dinoflagellate Polarella glacialis as a new sea ice proxy. For the first objective, we followed a comparative metabarcoding approach while the second objective included designing species-specific primers followed by gene copy number quantification by a droplet digital PCR assay. </p><p>We argue that sedaDNA will have a critical role in expanding the Paleoceanography “toolbox” and lead to the establishment of a new cross-disciplinary field.</p><p> </p>


The Holocene ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 271-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulia Furlanetto ◽  
Cesare Ravazzi ◽  
Federica Badino ◽  
Michele Brunetti ◽  
Elena Champvillair ◽  
...  

The potential of quantitatively reconstructing climate from modern pollen assemblages from high mountain environments has been widely debated but seldom tested. We analysed the pollen deposition in 53 surface samples (mosses) in relation to July temperature in two elevational transects in the European Alps. Each surface-sample site was assigned climate data derived from the local-scale climate. We compared our results with a larger calibration set extracted from the European Modern Pollen Database (EMPD) and centred on the European Alps. This also was assigned local climate data. The main calibration set (234 pollen samples) had Alnus harmonized at genus level; in contrast, a second set was selected (174) that retained the taxonomic resolution of Alnus viridis, which is one of the main climate indicators in the timberline ecotone. The overall and individual pollen responses to July temperature were inferred by canonical correspondence analysis (CCA), generalized linear regression (eHOF) and weighted averaging (WA). Quantitative climate reconstructions for each sample site of the two elevational transects were obtained using transfer functions, that is, WA and WA partial least squares (WA-PLS) regressions. In each calibration set, around 30% of the pollen taxa show a relationship with July temperature through monotonic or unimodal functions. The best transfer function obtained has a good statistical performance, with a determination coefficient ( r2) of 0.74. We propose new calibration procedures formulated to include the full climate space of the modelled taxa, as well as to account for uphill pollen transport in the high mountains and for human activity.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document