Species Distribution Models and Niche Partitioning among Unisexual <i>Darevskia dahli</i> and Its Parental Bisexual (<i>D. portschinskii</i>, <i>D. mixta</i>) Rock Lizards in the Caucasus
Among vertebrates, true parthenogenesis is known only in reptiles. Parthenogenetic lizards of the genus <i>Darevskia</i> emerged as a result of the hybridization of bisexual parental species. However, uncertainty remains about the mechanisms of the co-existence of these forms. The geogra...
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2020-08-01
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| author | Varos Petrosyan Fedor Osipov Vladimir Bobrov Natalia Dergunova Andrey Omelchenko Alexander Varshavskiy Felix Danielyan Marine Arakelyan |
| author_facet | Varos Petrosyan Fedor Osipov Vladimir Bobrov Natalia Dergunova Andrey Omelchenko Alexander Varshavskiy Felix Danielyan Marine Arakelyan |
| author_sort | Varos Petrosyan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Among vertebrates, true parthenogenesis is known only in reptiles. Parthenogenetic lizards of the genus <i>Darevskia</i> emerged as a result of the hybridization of bisexual parental species. However, uncertainty remains about the mechanisms of the co-existence of these forms. The geographical parthenogenesis hypothesis suggests that unisexual forms can co-exist with their parental species in the “marginal” habitats. Our goal is to investigate the influence of environmental factors on the formation of ecological niches and the distribution of lizards. For this reason, we created models of species distribution and ecological niches to predict the potential geographical distribution of the parthenogenetic and its parental species. We also estimated the realized niches breadth, their overlap, similarities, and shifts in the entire space of predictor variables. We found that the centroids of the niches of the three studied lizards were located in the mountain forests. The “maternal” species <i>D. mixta</i> prefers forest habitats located at high elevations, “paternal” species <i>D. portschinskii</i> commonly occurs in arid and shrub habitats of the lower belt of mountain forests, and <i>D. dahli</i> occupies substantially an intermediate or “marginal” position along environmental gradients relative to that of its parental species. Our results evidence that geographical parthenogenesis partially explains the co-existence of the lizards. |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-7390 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:41:59Z |
| publishDate | 2020-08-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-ae2d2f5de86b455085add0fe5883f52d2023-11-20T09:40:22ZengMDPI AGMathematics2227-73902020-08-0188132910.3390/math8081329Species Distribution Models and Niche Partitioning among Unisexual <i>Darevskia dahli</i> and Its Parental Bisexual (<i>D. portschinskii</i>, <i>D. mixta</i>) Rock Lizards in the CaucasusVaros Petrosyan0Fedor Osipov1Vladimir Bobrov2Natalia Dergunova3Andrey Omelchenko4Alexander Varshavskiy5Felix Danielyan6Marine Arakelyan7A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119071, RussiaA.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119071, RussiaA.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119071, RussiaA.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119071, RussiaA.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119071, RussiaA.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119071, RussiaDepartment of Biology, Yerevan State University, Yerevan 0025, ArmeniaDepartment of Biology, Yerevan State University, Yerevan 0025, ArmeniaAmong vertebrates, true parthenogenesis is known only in reptiles. Parthenogenetic lizards of the genus <i>Darevskia</i> emerged as a result of the hybridization of bisexual parental species. However, uncertainty remains about the mechanisms of the co-existence of these forms. The geographical parthenogenesis hypothesis suggests that unisexual forms can co-exist with their parental species in the “marginal” habitats. Our goal is to investigate the influence of environmental factors on the formation of ecological niches and the distribution of lizards. For this reason, we created models of species distribution and ecological niches to predict the potential geographical distribution of the parthenogenetic and its parental species. We also estimated the realized niches breadth, their overlap, similarities, and shifts in the entire space of predictor variables. We found that the centroids of the niches of the three studied lizards were located in the mountain forests. The “maternal” species <i>D. mixta</i> prefers forest habitats located at high elevations, “paternal” species <i>D. portschinskii</i> commonly occurs in arid and shrub habitats of the lower belt of mountain forests, and <i>D. dahli</i> occupies substantially an intermediate or “marginal” position along environmental gradients relative to that of its parental species. Our results evidence that geographical parthenogenesis partially explains the co-existence of the lizards.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/8/8/1329ReptiliaLacertidaeSquamatareticulate evolutioncaucasian rock lizardsparthenogenetic |
| spellingShingle | Varos Petrosyan Fedor Osipov Vladimir Bobrov Natalia Dergunova Andrey Omelchenko Alexander Varshavskiy Felix Danielyan Marine Arakelyan Species Distribution Models and Niche Partitioning among Unisexual <i>Darevskia dahli</i> and Its Parental Bisexual (<i>D. portschinskii</i>, <i>D. mixta</i>) Rock Lizards in the Caucasus Mathematics Reptilia Lacertidae Squamata reticulate evolution caucasian rock lizards parthenogenetic |
| title | Species Distribution Models and Niche Partitioning among Unisexual <i>Darevskia dahli</i> and Its Parental Bisexual (<i>D. portschinskii</i>, <i>D. mixta</i>) Rock Lizards in the Caucasus |
| title_full | Species Distribution Models and Niche Partitioning among Unisexual <i>Darevskia dahli</i> and Its Parental Bisexual (<i>D. portschinskii</i>, <i>D. mixta</i>) Rock Lizards in the Caucasus |
| title_fullStr | Species Distribution Models and Niche Partitioning among Unisexual <i>Darevskia dahli</i> and Its Parental Bisexual (<i>D. portschinskii</i>, <i>D. mixta</i>) Rock Lizards in the Caucasus |
| title_full_unstemmed | Species Distribution Models and Niche Partitioning among Unisexual <i>Darevskia dahli</i> and Its Parental Bisexual (<i>D. portschinskii</i>, <i>D. mixta</i>) Rock Lizards in the Caucasus |
| title_short | Species Distribution Models and Niche Partitioning among Unisexual <i>Darevskia dahli</i> and Its Parental Bisexual (<i>D. portschinskii</i>, <i>D. mixta</i>) Rock Lizards in the Caucasus |
| title_sort | species distribution models and niche partitioning among unisexual i darevskia dahli i and its parental bisexual i d portschinskii i i d mixta i rock lizards in the caucasus |
| topic | Reptilia Lacertidae Squamata reticulate evolution caucasian rock lizards parthenogenetic |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/8/8/1329 |
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