Abstract
BackgroundThe orogeny of the eastern Mediterranean region has substantially affected ecological speciation patterns, particularly of mountain-dwelling species. Mountain vipers of the genus Montivipera are among the paramount examples of Mediterranean neo-endemism, with restricted ranges in the mountains of Anatolia, the Levant, Caucasus, Alborz, and Zagros. Here we explore the phylogenetic and ecological diversification of Montivipera to reconstruct its ecological niche evolution and biogeographic history. Using 177 sequences of three mitochondrial genes, a dated molecular phylogeny of mountain vipers was reconstructed. Based on 320 occurrence points within the entire range of the genus and six climatic variables, ecological niches were modelled and used to infer ancestral niche occupancy. In addition, the biogeographic history and ancestral states of the species were reconstructed across climate gradients.ResultsDated phylogenetic reconstruction revealed that the ancestor of mountain vipers split into two major clades at around 12.18 Mya followed by multiple vicariance events due to rapid orogeny. Montivipera colonised coastal regions from a mountain-dwelling ancestor. We detected a highly complex ecological niche evolution of mountain vipers to temperature seasonality, a variable that also showed a strong phylogenetic signal and high contribution in niche occupation.ConclusionRaising mountain belts in the Eastern Mediterranean region and subsequent remarkable changes in temperature seasonality have led to the formation of important centres of diversification and endemism in this biodiversity hotspot. High rates of niche conservatism, low genetic diversity, and segregation of ranges into the endemic distribution negatively influenced the adaptive capacity of mountain vipers. We suggest that these species should be considered as evolutionary significant units and priority species for conservation in Mediterranean mountain ecosystems.
Highlights
The orogeny of the eastern Mediterranean region has substantially affected ecological speciation pat‐ terns, of mountain-dwelling species
The Raddei complex consists of four species, M. raddei, M. albicornuta, M. latifii, and M. kuhrangica, showing a strongly supported monophyly that has split around 1.97 Mya (HDP = 0.79–3.15)
Mountain vipers of the genus Montivipera are interesting examples of ecological species on the plateaus of Iran, Anatolia, and the Caucasus. Their entire global reach is limited to this area, on the other hand, a high rate of neo-endemism has occurred in this genus
Summary
The orogeny of the eastern Mediterranean region has substantially affected ecological speciation pat‐ terns, of mountain-dwelling species. The recent decline in biodiversity necessitates a deeper understanding of current species distribution patterns and their evolution through time. This knowledge is important in ecology, evolution, Ahmadi et al BMC Ecol Evo (2021) 21:130 and conservation planning [1, 2]. In this regard, limited resources for nature conservation need to be concentrated on species having unique evolutionary histories [3, 4]. A practical tool in this regard is to combine comparative phylogenetic methods and ecological niche modelling (ENM) to shed light on differential rates of niche evolution among sister taxa [6, 10, 11]
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