Abstract
Faustina faustina is a conchologically highly diverse forest gastropod with several morphological forms. It is a Carpathian species, but it also occurs in northern isolated localities, where it was probably introduced. We performed the first phylogeographic analysis of 22 populations, based on three molecular markers: COI, ITS-2, and 28S rRNA. Genetic data were complemented by paleo-distribution models of spatial occupancy during the Last Glacial Maximum to strengthen inferences of refugial areas. We discovered high genetic variability of COI sequences with p-distances between haplotypes ranged from 0.2 to 18.1% (6.3–16.6% between clades). For nuclear markers, a haplotype distribution pattern was revealed. Species distribution models indicated a few potential refugia in the Carpathians, with the most climatically stable and largest areas in the Southern Carpathians. In some climate scenarios, putative microrefugia were also predicted in the Western and Eastern Carpathians, and in the Apuseni Mts. Our results suggest the glacial in situ survival of F. faustina and its Holocene expansion in the Sudetes. Although our genetic data as well as shell phenotypes showed considerable variation within and between studied populations, the molecular species delimitation approaches still imply only one single species. Our study contributes to the understanding of the impact of processes on shaping contemporary population genetic structure and diversity in low-dispersal, forest species.
Highlights
The range of most contemporary species of plants and animals in Europe has been shaped in the Pleistocene as a result of climate change and the glaciation cycle, during which most northern and central parts of the continent were covered by a glacier
In the case of COI marker, verification with BLAST resulted in hitting our sequences with F. faustina faustina (JX157839) (Query cover: > 97%, E-value: 0.0, Perc. ident: > 99%), from the Czech Republic (NE Böhmen, Opocno, Schlosspark), which indicates that the most European populations can be regarded as nominotypical faustina form
Our sequences of individuals classified as associata form resulted in hitting F. faustina associata (JX156837) from Romania (Komitat Harghita, Mt Hasmas, Bicaz Canyon) (Query cover: > 97%, E-value: 0.0, Perc. ident: > 99%)
Summary
The range of most contemporary species of plants and animals in Europe has been shaped in the Pleistocene as a result of climate change and the glaciation cycle, during which most northern and central parts of the continent were covered by a glacier. In Europe, these were Iberian, Apennine, Balkan-Peloponnese, and Ponto-Caspian refuges. The role of Carpathian refugia and the history of post-glacial colonization of Central and Northern Europe seems to be significant and is increasingly documented. This has been reported in molecular phylogeographic studies of populations of various animals, like beetles (Homburg et al 2013), butterflies (Paučulová et al 2017), amphibians (Wielstra et al 2017), or mammals (Filipi et al 2015). Such data on land gastropods (Harl et al 2014) are scarce and deficient
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