Ecological specialization promotes diversity and diversification in the Eastern Mediterranean genus Ricotia (Brassicaceae)

Despite its amazing biodiversity, the Eastern Mediterranean remains a highly understudied region when compared with the Western Mediterranean, restricting our understanding of diversity across the entire Mediterranean. Here we use a combination of molecular markers and presence/absence data from all species of the Eastern Mediterranean genus Ricotia collected across its full geographic range to determine historical, ecological, and evolutionary factors responsible for lineage-specific diversification in the Eastern Mediterranean. Network analysis based on molecular data revealed a high genetic structure within all lineages, and phylogenetic reconstructions based on the multispecies coalescent showed that within-lineage diversification corresponded to the onset of the Mediterranean climate. Reconstruction of ancestral histories indicates that the genus originated within Anatolia and spread across the Eastern Mediterranean and Levant using the Taurus mountains. Ecological niche models suggest that local populations did not go through any major distributional shifts and have persisted in present-day habitats since the Last Glacial Maximum. Furthermore, niche differentiation tests revealed significant differences between closely related species and showed the main variables predicting species limits to be different for each species. Our results give crucial information on the patterns and processes shaping diversity in the Eastern Mediterranean and show the main factors promoting diversification to be local environmental dynamics and ecological specialization and not large-scale latitudinal movements, as often reported for southern Europe. By determining local and regional patterns of diversification in an Eastern Mediterranean genus, we further our understanding of the major trends influencing plant diversity in the Mediterranean basin as a whole.

Automated summary

Despite its biodiversity, the Eastern Mediterranean is not well-studied compared to the Western Mediterranean. This study used molecular markers and presence/absence data to investigate the historical, ecological, and evolutionary factors driving diversification in the Eastern Mediterranean genus Ricotia. The results show high genetic structure within lineages and a correlation between within-lineage diversification and the onset of the Mediterranean climate.