sequential fragmentation of pleistocene forests in an east africa biodiversity hotspot chameleons as a model to track forest history连续分裂的更新世森林东非森林生物多样性热点变色龙作为模型跟踪的历史.pdfVIP

Sequential Fragmentation of Pleistocene Forests in an East Africa Biodiversity Hotspot: Chameleons as a Model to Track Forest History G. John Measey1,2*, Krystal A. Tolley1,3 1 Applied Biodiversity Research Division, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Cape Town, South Africa, 2 Department of Biodiversity and Conservation Biology, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa, 3 Department of Botany and Zoology, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa Abstract Background: The Eastern Arc Mountains (EAM) is an example of naturally fragmented tropical forests, which contain one of the highest known concentrations of endemic plants and vertebrates. Numerous paleo-climatic studies have not provided direct evidence for ancient presence of Pleistocene forests, particularly in the regions in which savannah presently occurs. Knowledge of the last period when forests connected EAM would provide a sound basis for hypothesis testing of vicariance and dispersal models of speciation. Dated phylogenies have revealed complex patterns throughout EAM, so we investigated divergence times of forest fauna on four montane isolates in close proximity to determine whether forest break-up was most likely to have been simultaneous or sequential, using population genetics of a forest restricted arboreal chameleon, Kinyongia boehmei. Methodology/Principal Findings: We used mitochondrial and nuclear genetic sequence data and mutation rates from a fossil-calibrated phylogeny to estimate divergence times between montane isolates using a coalescent approach. We found that chameleons on all mountains are most likely to have diverged sequentially within the Pleistocene from 0.93–0.59 Ma (95% HPD 0.22–1.84 Ma). In addition, post-hoc tests on chameleons on the largest montane isolate suggest a population expansion ,