Journal
ORGANISMS DIVERSITY & EVOLUTION
Volume 20, Issue 3, Pages 345-368Publisher
SPRINGER HEIDELBERG
DOI: 10.1007/s13127-020-00440-5
Keywords
Environmental niche modeling; Hoverflies; Mediterranean mountains; mtDNA COI gene; Nuclear 28S rRNA gene; Speciation
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Funding
- European Union (European Social Fund - ESF)
- Greek national funds through the Operational Program Education and Lifelong Learning of the National Strategic Reference Framework THALES: POL-AEGIS [MIS 376737]
- Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia [451-03-68/2020-14/200125]
- Provincial Secretariat for Science and Technological Development (Evaluation of ecological networks in AP Vojvodina as support for nature conservation Grant) [142-451-2591]
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Climatic changes associated with Pleistocene glacial cycles had profound effects on the genetic diversification and distribution of many taxa, especially from environmentally sensitive habitats such as mountain regions. The DNA sequence data (mtCOI and 28S RNA genes) derived from the Merodon rufus group (Diptera: Syrphidae) in central, eastern, and southern Europe was analyzed. Environmental niche modeling (ENM) and coalescent simulations also were performed to describe diversification events previously recognized via morphological analysis and to elucidate its evolutionary mechanism. Results revealed that M. rufus group is composed of four well-supported lineages, three of which belong to new species from Mediterranean mountains, namely M. kozufensis sp. nova, M. olympius sp. nova, and M. orjensis sp. nova. According to the divergence time estimates, lineage diversification most probably occurred during the Pleistocene by the colonization model rather than the fragmentation of a widely distributed common ancestor's range. ENM results showed potential overlap of climatic refugia on the Balkan Peninsula of the M. rufus group and the beech forests, suggesting a possible association with this habitat type. Merodon rufus Meigen, 1838 probably colonized further from these refugia and spread across other parts of Europe during the Holocene.
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