Molecular analyses of pseudoscorpions in a subterranean biodiversity hotspot reveal cryptic diversity and microendemism
Abstract Nested within the Mediterranean biodiversity hotspot, the Dinaric Karst of the western Balkans is one of the world’s most heterogeneous subterranean ecosystems and renowned for its highly diverse and mostly endemic fauna. The evolutionary processes leading to both endemism and diversity rem...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-26298-5 |
| _version_ | 1797952578966781952 |
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| author | Dora Hlebec Martina Podnar Mladen Kučinić Danilo Harms |
| author_facet | Dora Hlebec Martina Podnar Mladen Kučinić Danilo Harms |
| author_sort | Dora Hlebec |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Nested within the Mediterranean biodiversity hotspot, the Dinaric Karst of the western Balkans is one of the world’s most heterogeneous subterranean ecosystems and renowned for its highly diverse and mostly endemic fauna. The evolutionary processes leading to both endemism and diversity remain insufficiently understood, and large-scale analyses on taxa that are abundant in both subterranean and surface habitats remain infrequent. Here, we provide the first comprehensive molecular study on Croatian pseudoscorpions, a lineage of arachnids that is common and diverse in both habitats. Phylogenetic reconstructions using 499 COI sequences derived from 128 morphospecies collected across the Dinaric Karst show that: (i) occurrence in karstic microhabitats boosters speciation and endemism in the most diverse genera Chthonius C.L. Koch, 1843 (37 morphospecies) and Neobisium Chamberlin, 1930 (34 morphospecies), (ii) evidence for ongoing diversification is found in many species and species complexes through low optimal thresholds (OTs) and species delineation analyses, and (iii) landscape features, such as mountain ranges, correlate with patterns of genetic diversity in the diverse genus Neobisium. We present two synonymies: Protoneobisium Ćurčić, 1988 = Neobisium, syn. nov., and Archaeoroncus Ćurčić and Rađa, 2012 = Roncus L. Koch, 1873, syn. nov. Overall, our study suggests that karstic microhabitats promote diversification in soil- and cave-dwelling arthropods at all taxonomic levels, but also provide important refugia for invertebrates in past and present periods of environmental change. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T22:48:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c8ea11ff956448829d0e28063fc3d9af |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T22:48:36Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-c8ea11ff956448829d0e28063fc3d9af2023-01-15T12:12:02ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-01-0113111410.1038/s41598-022-26298-5Molecular analyses of pseudoscorpions in a subterranean biodiversity hotspot reveal cryptic diversity and microendemismDora Hlebec0Martina Podnar1Mladen Kučinić2Danilo Harms3Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of ZagrebCroatian Natural History MuseumDepartment of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of ZagrebSection of Arachnology, Department of Invertebrates, Museum of Nature Hamburg - Zoology, Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity ChangeAbstract Nested within the Mediterranean biodiversity hotspot, the Dinaric Karst of the western Balkans is one of the world’s most heterogeneous subterranean ecosystems and renowned for its highly diverse and mostly endemic fauna. The evolutionary processes leading to both endemism and diversity remain insufficiently understood, and large-scale analyses on taxa that are abundant in both subterranean and surface habitats remain infrequent. Here, we provide the first comprehensive molecular study on Croatian pseudoscorpions, a lineage of arachnids that is common and diverse in both habitats. Phylogenetic reconstructions using 499 COI sequences derived from 128 morphospecies collected across the Dinaric Karst show that: (i) occurrence in karstic microhabitats boosters speciation and endemism in the most diverse genera Chthonius C.L. Koch, 1843 (37 morphospecies) and Neobisium Chamberlin, 1930 (34 morphospecies), (ii) evidence for ongoing diversification is found in many species and species complexes through low optimal thresholds (OTs) and species delineation analyses, and (iii) landscape features, such as mountain ranges, correlate with patterns of genetic diversity in the diverse genus Neobisium. We present two synonymies: Protoneobisium Ćurčić, 1988 = Neobisium, syn. nov., and Archaeoroncus Ćurčić and Rađa, 2012 = Roncus L. Koch, 1873, syn. nov. Overall, our study suggests that karstic microhabitats promote diversification in soil- and cave-dwelling arthropods at all taxonomic levels, but also provide important refugia for invertebrates in past and present periods of environmental change.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-26298-5 |
| spellingShingle | Dora Hlebec Martina Podnar Mladen Kučinić Danilo Harms Molecular analyses of pseudoscorpions in a subterranean biodiversity hotspot reveal cryptic diversity and microendemism Scientific Reports |
| title | Molecular analyses of pseudoscorpions in a subterranean biodiversity hotspot reveal cryptic diversity and microendemism |
| title_full | Molecular analyses of pseudoscorpions in a subterranean biodiversity hotspot reveal cryptic diversity and microendemism |
| title_fullStr | Molecular analyses of pseudoscorpions in a subterranean biodiversity hotspot reveal cryptic diversity and microendemism |
| title_full_unstemmed | Molecular analyses of pseudoscorpions in a subterranean biodiversity hotspot reveal cryptic diversity and microendemism |
| title_short | Molecular analyses of pseudoscorpions in a subterranean biodiversity hotspot reveal cryptic diversity and microendemism |
| title_sort | molecular analyses of pseudoscorpions in a subterranean biodiversity hotspot reveal cryptic diversity and microendemism |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-26298-5 |
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