Abstract
Measuring the dispersal of wildlife through landscapes is notoriously difficult. Recently, the categorical least cost path algorithm that integrates population genetic data with species distribution models has been applied to reveal population connectivity. In this study, we use this method to identify the possible dispersal corridors of five plant species (Castanopsis tibetana, Schima superba, Cyclocarya paliurus, Sargentodoxa cuneata, Eomecon chionantha) in the Poyang Lake Basin (PLB, largely coinciding with Jiangxi Province), China, in the late Quaternary. The results showed that the strongest population connectivity for the five species occurred in the Wuyi Mountains and the Yu Mountains of the eastern PLB (East Corridor) during the late Quaternary. In the western PLB, populations of the five species were connected by the Luoxiao Mountains and the Jiuling Mountains (West Corridor) but with a lower degree of connectivity. There were some minor connections between the eastern and the western populations across the Gannan Hills. When the corridors of five species were overlaid, the East Corridor and the West Corridor were mostly shared by multiple species. These results indicate that plant species in the PLB could have responded to the Quaternary climate changes by moving along the East Corridor and the West Corridor. Given that dispersal corridors have seldom been considered in the governmental strategies of biodiversity conservation in the PLB, preserving and restoring natural vegetation along these corridors should be prioritized to mitigate the effects of anthropogenic climate change by facilitating migration of plant species and other biota.
Highlights
A large body of scientific evidence suggests that climate on earth is changing rapidly (IPCC 2014)
Phylogeography is the study of historical processes that may be responsible for the contemporary geographic distributions of individuals (Avise, 2000)
As it analyzes the spatial distribution of genealogical lineages, phylogeography is a powerful tool for inferring historical recolonization routes (Taberlet, Fumagalli, Wust-Saucy, & Cosson, 1998)
Summary
A large body of scientific evidence suggests that climate on earth is changing rapidly (IPCC 2014). Phylogeography is the study of historical processes that may be responsible for the contemporary geographic distributions of individuals (Avise, 2000) As it analyzes the spatial distribution of genealogical lineages, phylogeography is a powerful tool for inferring historical recolonization routes (i.e., dispersal corridors) (Taberlet, Fumagalli, Wust-Saucy, & Cosson, 1998). If we obtained all the shared (and/or sister) haplotypes between populations and past species distribution, it would be feasible to calculate rather than infer historical dispersal corridors of plant species across the landscape during the Quaternary using ArcGIS tools (Chan et al, 2011; Yu et al, 2015). Conservation strategies that simultaneously meet the needs of multiple species may be more effective for broad-spectrum biodiversity conservation (Cushman & Landguth, 2012), evaluating dispersal corridors for multiple species should be of higher priority Such studies in the PLB remain scant. The results of this study would provide an illustration of how plant species have responded to climate changes during the Quaternary in the PLB and optimize the conservation strategies under ongoing climate change
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