Dispersal routes and species identification of freshwater animals in Northern Europe: A review of molecular evidence

Abstract

According to genetic data, North European freshwater areas were colonized from refugia along the eastern Atlantic coast, in southern and eastern areas of Baltic Sea, in Siberia, North America, and areas of the Caspian and Black seas. Probably, a refugium also existed in Southern Norway. Colonization from the sea also took place. The taxonomic position of some forms, such as members of the complex groups of Arctic chars and coregonids, was refined in the course of combined studies including morphological analysis and molecular markers.