Naslov
Spatiotemporal diversification of the Balkan flora: What do we know?

Autori
Schoenswetter, Peter ; Alegro, Antun ; Frajman, Božo

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, sažetak, znanstveni

Izvornik
International Symposium on „Evolution of Balkan Biodiversity“ - Book of Abstracts / Rešetnik, Ivana ; Bogdanović, Sandro ; Alegro, Antun - Zagreb : Hrvatsko Botaničko Društvo, 2012, 15-15

ISBN
978-953-99774-5-8

Skup
International Symposium on „Evolution of Balkan Biodiversity“

Mjesto i datum
Zagreb, Hrvatska, 28.06.2012. - 30.06.2012

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
Pleistocene refugia; allopatric speciation; phylogeography

Sažetak
Surveys of regional patterns of biodiversity confirm that the Balkans, alongside Iberia, harbor the richest flora in Europe, possessing not only the largest number of species but also hosting most endemics. Phylogenetic research on plants in the past ten years has established a fairly stable system of evolutionary relationships. The advent of modern molecular techniques has enabled researchers not only to construct the “tree of life” depicting ties among major groups of living beings, but also to unravel relationships among closely related species. Molecular tools allow for studying genetic diversity and divergence of populations and have thus provided significant insights into intraspecific lineages, migration routes and locations of Pleictocene refugia. The Balkan and the Iberian Peninsulas were the main Pleistocene refugia for the postglacial colonization of Europe. Whereas in Central and Northern Europe life was either entirely extirpated by the advance of ice sheets, or vegetation was transformed into tundras or cold steppes, southern and western parts of the Balkan offered buffered conditions, allowing even temperate tree species to survive the cold stages of the Pleistocene. Due to the rugged orography of the Balkans, populations isolated by glaciated mountains gradually diverged, potentially forming new taxa through allopatric speciation. When the climate ameliorated, secondary contacts enabled hybridization, including the formation of polyploidy lineages, some of which were highly successful in the colonization of Central and Northern Europe. In contrast to the good coverage of the Western, Northern and Central European floras by molecular studies, the biota of southeastern Europe, and especially that of the western Balkan countries remains neglected in this respect. The presentation summarizes the few available phylogenetic and phylogeographic studies of plants from the Balkans that have revealed complex patterns in the geographic distribution of genetic diversity and challenged traditional taxonomic concepts.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Biologija

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