Genetic Diversity and Range Dynamics of Helleborus odorus subsp. cyclophyllus under Different Climate Change Scenarios

Research Highlights: The effects of climate change on habitat loss, range shift and/or genetic impoverishment of mid-elevation plants has received less attention compared to alpine species. Moreover, genetic diversity patterns of mountain forest herbaceous species have scarcely been explored in the Balkans. In this context, our study is the first that aims to examine Helleborus odorus subsp. cyclophyllus, a medicinal plant endemic to the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula. Background and Objectives: We compare its genetic diversity and structure along the continuous mountain range of western Greece with the topographically less structured mountains of eastern Greece, and predict its present and future habitat suitability, using several environmental variables. Materials and Methods: Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) markers were used to genotype 80 individuals from 8 populations, covering almost the species’ entire distribution range in Greece. We investigated the factors shaping its genetic composition and driving its current and future distribution. Results: High gene diversity (0.2239–0.3319), moderate population differentiation (0.0317–0.3316) and increased gene flow (Nm = 1.3098) was detected. According to any GCM/RCP/climate database combination, Helleborus odorus subsp. cyclophyllus is projected to lose a significant portion of its current distribution by 2070 and follow a trend towards genetic homogenization. Conclusions: Populations exhibit in terms of genetic structure a west–east genetic split, which becomes more evident southwards. This is mainly due to geographic/topographic factors and their interplay with Quaternary climatic oscillations, and to environmental constraints, which may have a negative impact on the species’ future distribution and genetic composition. Pindos mountain range seems to buffer climate change effects and will probably continue to host several populations. On the other hand, peripheral populations have lower genetic diversity compared to central populations, but still hold significant evolutionary potential due to the private alleles they maintain.

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Genetic Diversity, Structure, and Selective Sweeps in Spinacia turkestanica Associated With the Domestication of Cultivated Spinach

Frontiers in Genetics ◽

10.3389/fgene.2021.740437 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Sanjaya Gyawali ◽

Gehendra Bhattarai ◽

Ainong Shi ◽

Chris Kik ◽

Lindsey J. du Toit

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Central Asia ◽

Selective Sweep ◽

Spinacia Oleracea ◽

Genomic Region ◽

Day Length ◽

Mountain Range ◽

Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽

Selective Sweeps ◽

Genetic Diversity And Structure

Genotype-by-sequencing (GBS) was used to explore the genetic diversity and structure of Spinacia turkestanica, and the selective sweeps involved in domestication of cultivated spinach, S. oleracea, from S. turkestanica. A total 7,065 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) generated for 16 Spinacia oleracea and 76 S. turkestanica accessions placed the S. oleracea accessions in one group, Q1, and the 76 S. turkestanica accessions, which originated from Central Asia, in two distinct groups, Q2 and Q3. The Q2 group shared greater genetic identity with the S. oleracea accessions, Q1, than the Q3 S. turkestanica group. Likewise, the S. oleracea Q1 group had a smaller Fst (0.008) with the Q2 group than with the Q3 group (Fst = 0.012), and a greater gene flow (Nm = 30.13) with the Q2 group than with the Q3 group (Nm = 21.83). The Q2 accessions originated primarily from Uzbekistan while the Q3 accessions originated mostly from Tajikistan. The Zarafshan Mountain Range appears to have served as a physical barrier that largely separated members of the Q2 and Q3 groups of S. turkestanica. Accessions with admixtures of Q2 and Q3 were collected primarily from lower elevations at the southern end of the Zarafshan Mountain Range in Uzbekistan. Selective sweep regions identified at 32, 49, and 52 Mb on chromosomes 1, 2, and 3, respectively, appear to have played a vital role in the domestication of S. oleracea as they are correlated with important domestication traits, including day length sensitivity for bolting (flowering). High XP-CLR scores at the 52 Mb genomic region of chromosome three suggest that a selective sweep at this region was responsible for early differentiation of S. turkestanica into two groups in Central Asia.

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Genetic diversity of native and cultivated Ugandan Robusta coffee (Coffea canephora Pierre ex A. Froehner): Climate influences, breeding potential and diversity conservation

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0245965 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (2) ◽

pp. e0245965

Author(s):

Catherine Kiwuka ◽

Eva Goudsmit ◽

Rémi Tournebize ◽

Sinara Oliveira de Aquino ◽

Jacob C. Douma ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Genetic Diversity ◽

Allelic Variation ◽

Coffea Canephora ◽

Ex Situ ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Robusta Coffee ◽

Genetic Diversity And Structure ◽

Adaptive Diversity ◽

Southern Central

Wild genetic resources and their ability to adapt to environmental change are critically important in light of the projected climate change, while constituting the foundation of agricultural sustainability. To address the expected negative effects of climate change on Robusta coffee trees (Coffea canephora), collecting missions were conducted to explore its current native distribution in Uganda over a broad climatic range. Wild material from seven forests could thus be collected. We used 19 microsatellite (SSR) markers to assess genetic diversity and structure of this material as well as material from two ex-situ collections and a feral population. The Ugandan C. canephora diversity was then positioned relative to the species’ global diversity structure. Twenty-two climatic variables were used to explore variations in climatic zones across the sampled forests. Overall, Uganda’s native C. canephora diversity differs from other known genetic groups of this species. In northwestern (NW) Uganda, four distinct genetic clusters were distinguished being from Zoka, Budongo, Itwara and Kibale forests A large southern-central (SC) cluster included Malabigambo, Mabira, and Kalangala forest accessions, as well as feral and cultivated accessions, suggesting similarity in genetic origin and strong gene flow between wild and cultivated compartments. We also confirmed the introduction of Congolese varieties into the SC region where most Robusta coffee production takes place. Identified populations occurred in divergent environmental conditions and 12 environmental variables significantly explained 16.3% of the total allelic variation across populations. The substantial genetic variation within and between Ugandan populations with different climatic envelopes might contain adaptive diversity to cope with climate change. The accessions that we collected have substantially enriched the diversity hosted in the Ugandan collections and thus contribute to ex situ conservation of this vital genetic resource. However, there is an urgent need to develop strategies to enhance complementary in-situ conservation of Coffea canephora in native forests in northwestern Uganda.

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Population genetic variability and distribution of the endangered Greek endemic Cicer graecum under climate change scenarios

AoB Plants ◽

10.1093/aobpla/plaa007 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Efthalia Stathi ◽

Konstantinos Kougioumoutzis ◽

Eleni M Abraham ◽

Panayiotis Trigas ◽

Ioannis Ganopoulos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Genetic Diversity ◽

Genetic Variability ◽

Hot Spot ◽

Extinction Risk ◽

Aflp Markers ◽

Ex Situ ◽

Dominant Factor ◽

Climate Change Scenarios ◽

Global Circulation Models

Abstract The Mediterranean hot spot includes numerous endemic and socio-economically important plant species seriously threatened by climate change and habitat loss. In this study, the genetic diversity of five populations of Cicer graecum, an endangered endemic species from northern Peloponnisos, Greece and a wild relative of the cultivated Cicer arietinum, was investigated using inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSRs) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers in order to determine levels and structure of genetic variability. Nei’s gene diversity by ISSR and AFLP markers indicated medium to high genetic diversity at the population level. Moreover, AMOVA results suggest that most of the variation exists within (93 % for AFLPs and 65 % for ISSRs), rather than among populations. Furthermore, Principal Component Analysis based on ISSRs positively correlated the genetic differentiation among the populations to the geographic distances, suggesting that the gene flow among distant populations is limited. The ecological adaptation of C. graecum populations was also investigated by correlation of their genetic diversity with certain environmental variables. Aridity arose as the dominant factor positively affecting the genetic diversity of C. graecum populations. We modelled the realized climatic niche of C. graecum in an ensemble forecasting scheme under three different global circulation models and two climate change scenarios. In all cases, a severe range contraction for C. graecum is projected, highlighting the high extinction risk that is probably going to face during the coming decades. These results could be a valuable tool towards the implementation of an integrated in situ and ex situ conservation scheme approach for activating management programmes for this endemic and threatened species.

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Effect of Habitat Fragmentation on the Genetic Diversity and Structure of Peripheral Populations of Beech in Central Italy

Journal of Heredity ◽

10.1093/jhered/ess004 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 103 (3) ◽

pp. 408-417 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

Stefano Leonardi ◽

Paolo Piovani ◽

Marta Scalfi ◽

Andrea Piotti ◽

Raffaello Giannini ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Habitat Fragmentation ◽

Central Italy ◽

Peripheral Populations ◽

Genetic Diversity And Structure

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Short-Lived Species Move Uphill Faster Under Climate Change

10.21203/rs.3.rs-389565/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Joséphine Couet ◽

Emma-Liina Marjakangas ◽

Andrea Santangeli ◽

John Atle Kålås ◽

Åke Lindström ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Life Histories ◽

Bird Species ◽

Species Traits ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Range Shift ◽

Mountain Range ◽

Large Spatial Scale ◽

Altitudinal Range ◽

Species Abundances

Abstract Climate change is pushing species ranges towards poles and mountain tops. Although many studies have documented local altitudinal shifts, knowledge of general patterns at a large spatial scale, such as a whole mountain range, is very limited. From a conservation perspective, studying altitudinal shifts is particularly important as mountain regions often represent biodiversity hotspots and are among the most vulnerable ecosystems. Here, we examine whether altitudinal shifts have occurred among birds in the Scandinavian mountains over 13 years and assess whether such shifts are related to species’ traits. Using abundance data, we show a clear pattern of uphill shifts in the mean altitudes of the bird species’ abundances across the Scandinavian mountains, with an average speed of 0.9 m per year. Out of 77 species, 54 shifted their ranges uphill. In general, the range shift was faster when the altitudinal range within the area was wider. Importantly, the altitudinal shift was strongly related to species’ longevity: short-lived species showed more pronounced altitudinal uphill shifts than long-lived species. Our results show that the altitudinal range shifts are not only driven by a small number of individuals at the range boundaries, but the overall bird abundances are on the move. This highlights the wide-ranging impact of climate change and the potential vulnerability of species with slow life-histories, as they appear unable to timely respond to rapidly changing climatic conditions.

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Estimating potential range shift of some wild bees in response to climate change scenarios in northwestern regions of Iran

Journal of Ecology and Environment ◽

10.1186/s41610-021-00189-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 45 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ehsan Rahimi ◽

Shahindokht Barghjelveh ◽

Pinliang Dong

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Habitat Quality ◽

Species Distribution ◽

Range Shift ◽

Potential Range ◽

Climate Change Scenarios ◽

Natural Ecosystem ◽

Quality Changes ◽

Wild Bees ◽

The Future

Abstract Background Climate change is occurring rapidly around the world, and is predicted to have a large impact on biodiversity. Various studies have shown that climate change can alter the geographical distribution of wild bees. As climate change affects the species distribution and causes range shift, the degree of range shift and the quality of the habitats are becoming more important for securing the species diversity. In addition, those pollinator insects are contributing not only to shaping the natural ecosystem but also to increased crop production. The distributional and habitat quality changes of wild bees are of utmost importance in the climate change era. This study aims to investigate the impact of climate change on distributional and habitat quality changes of five wild bees in northwestern regions of Iran under two representative concentration pathway scenarios (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5). We used species distribution models to predict the potential range shift of these species in the year 2070. Result The effects of climate change on different species are different, and the increase in temperature mainly expands the distribution ranges of wild bees, except for one species that is estimated to have a reduced potential range. Therefore, the increase in temperature would force wild bees to shift to higher latitudes. There was also significant uncertainty in the use of different models and the number of environmental layers employed in the modeling of habitat suitability. Conclusion The increase in temperature caused the expansion of species distribution and wider areas would be available to the studied species in the future. However, not all of this possible range may include high-quality habitats, and wild bees may limit their niche to suitable habitats. On the other hand, the movement of species to higher latitudes will cause a mismatch between farms and suitable areas for wild bees, and as a result, farmers will face a shortage of pollination from wild bees. We suggest that farmers in these areas be aware of the effects of climate change on agricultural production and consider the use of managed bees in the future.

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Range shift and loss of genetic diversity under climate change in Caryocar brasiliense, a Neotropical tree species

Tree Genetics & Genomes ◽

10.1007/s11295-011-0409-z ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 7 (6) ◽

pp. 1237-1247 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Rosane G. Collevatti ◽

João Carlos Nabout ◽

Jose Alexandre F. Diniz-Filho

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Genetic Diversity ◽

Tree Species ◽

Range Shift ◽

Neotropical Tree ◽

Caryocar Brasiliense ◽

Loss Of Genetic Diversity

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Perceived Barriers to the Use of Assisted Colonization for Climate Sensitive Species in the Hawaiian Islands

Environmental Management ◽

10.1007/s00267-021-01491-w ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Shannon N. Rivera ◽

Lucas Berio Fortini ◽

Sheldon Plentovich ◽

Melissa R. Price

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Hawaiian Islands ◽

Perceived Barriers ◽

Future Climate Change ◽

Mountain Range ◽

Climate Change Scenarios ◽

Risk And Uncertainty ◽

Sensitive Species ◽

Conservation Actions ◽

Assisted Colonization

AbstractConservation actions to safeguard climate change vulnerable species may not be utilized due to a variety of perceived barriers. Assisted colonization, the intentional movement and release of an organism outside its historical range, is one tool available for species predicted to lose habitat under future climate change scenarios, particularly for single island or single mountain range endemic species. Despite the existence of policies that allow for this action, to date, assisted colonization has rarely been utilized for species of conservation concern in the Hawaiian Islands. Given the potential for climate driven biodiversity loss, the Hawaiian Islands are a prime location for the consideration of adaptation strategies. We used first-person interviews with conservation decision makers, managers, and scientists who work with endangered species in the Hawaiian Islands to identify perceived barriers to the use of assisted colonization. We found that assisted colonization was often not considered or utilized due to a lack of expertize with translocations; ecological risk and uncertainty, economic constraints, concerns regarding policies and permitting, concerns with public perception, and institutional resistance. Therefore, conservation planners may benefit from decision tools that integrate risk and uncertainty into decision models, and compare potential outcomes among conservation actions under consideration, including assisted colonization. Within a decision framework that addresses concerns, all conservation actions for climate sensitive species, including assisted colonization, may be considered in a timely manner.

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Assessing distribution changes of selected native and alien invasive plant species under changing climatic conditions in Nyeri County, Kenya

10.1101/2020.08.25.265991 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Julius Maina Waititu ◽

Charles Ndegwa Mundia ◽

Arthur W Sichangi

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Invasive Species ◽

Invasive Plant ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

The Other ◽

Range Shift ◽

Climate Change Scenarios ◽

Invasive Plant Species ◽

Species Management ◽

Study Species

AbstractChanges in climatic conditions increases the risks of native and alien taxa expanding in geographical range and causing habitat transformations. The role of climate change in enhancing bio-invasions in local natural environments need to be assessed to guide on effective species management policy formulations. In this present study, we used species presence records, predictor variables and an ensemble of General Circulation Models data to predict suitable ecological niches for five of the selected invasive plant species within Nyeri County, Kenya. We predicted species distributions under RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5 emission scenarios for the years 2050 and 2070. We analysed species distribution changes to identify invasive species requiring immediate management action. Our analysis indicated that three of the five study species were suitable in ~50% of the study area while the other two were suitable in ~30% under the current climate. Lantana camara L. and Solanum campylacanthum Hochst. ex A. Rich species would experience the largest range shift distance of ~6 – 10km and the largest habitat gain of ~12 – 33% in the future. Caesalpinia decapetala (Roth) Alston, Opuntia stricta (Haw.) Haw. and Senna didymobotrya (Fresen.) H.S. Irwin & Barneby species on the other hand would have a decline in habitat range under future climate change scenarios. Although, S. didymobotrya is considered a native species, it would lose half of its current suitable habitat in the future. Range shift analysis showed all study species would generally shift to the north west direction or towards the Aberdare ranges. From this study we conclude that invasive species management programs for smaller geographical areas ought to consider projecting species distributions under climate change scenarios to identify areas with high possible biodiversity changes. This would be important to conservationists when prioritizing management actions of invasive species in the region where data on invasive species is still limited.

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