Evidence of conservative range in mountain grasses during past climate change: Only contractions or local expansions possible

• DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2024.e02889
• Publication Date: 2024-03-08T05:27:42Z
• Authors: Marcin Kiedrzyński; Przemysław P. Tom...; Katarzyna M. Ziel...; Edyta Kiedrzyńska; Paweł Wąsowicz
• Keywords: Edaphic; Species distribution

The ongoing biodiversity crisis associated with anthropogenic global warming has especially severe effects on mountain and cold-adapted species. lesson from the postglacial can provide examples for future predictions, but scenarios of range shift species are not fully explored. Different stories could happen if a achieved long-distance dispersal reached lowland locations or survived only in mountains, during ice age. In case grasses, key role dynamics is played also by polyploidy. Due to their enhanced genetic physiological plasticity, polyploids thought be less likely become extinct changes. present study explores shifts two Festuca species, which differ size (endemic vs widespread) ploidy level (diploid mixed-ploidy). We used phylogeography distribution models analyze changes potential warming. sophisticated prediction using modeling based climate edaphic factors. Our findings indicate low gene flow between populations, irrespective variation distance, ploidy. Slightly shorter distances were observed tetraploid populations compared diploids. data indicates that diploids adapted cold conditions restricted mountains glaciations, while spread more widely periods. Nevertheless, since LGM it appears all studied ranges have been rather conservative, maybe some local contractions expansions, tetraploids. Moreover, tetraploids demonstrated most stable cases characterized individual complex dependent cytotype behaviour. However, generally speaking, demonstrate conservative range, places them at risk extinction due lack effective means escape.