Combining the least cost path method with population genetic data and species distribution models to identify landscape connectivity during the late Quaternary in Himalayan hemlock |
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| Authors: | Haibin Yu Yili Zhang Linshan Liu Wei Qi Shicheng Li Zhongjun Hu |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resource Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, China;2. School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat‐sen University, Guangzhou, China;3. CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Beijing, China;4. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China |
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| Abstract: | Himalayan hemlock (Tsuga dumosa) experienced a recolonization event during the Quaternary period; however, the specific dispersal routes are remain unknown. Recently, the least cost path (LCP) calculation coupled with population genetic data and species distribution models has been applied to reveal the landscape connectivity. In this study, we utilized the categorical LCP method, combining species distribution of three periods (the last interglacial, the last glacial maximum, and the current period) and locality with shared chloroplast, mitochondrial, and nuclear haplotypes, to identify the possible dispersal routes of T. dumosa in the late Quaternary. Then, both a coalescent estimate of migration rates among regional groups and establishment of genetic divergence pattern were conducted. After those analyses, we found that the species generally migrated along the southern slope of Himalaya across time periods and genomic makers, and higher degree of dispersal was in the present and mtDNA haplotype. Furthermore, the direction of range shifts and strong level of gene flow also imply the existence of Himalayan dispersal path, and low area of genetic divergence pattern suggests that there are not any obvious barriers against the dispersal pathway. Above all, we inferred that a dispersal route along the Himalaya Mountains could exist, which is an important supplement for the evolutionary history of T. dumosa. Finally, we believed that this integrative genetic and geospatial method would bring new implications for the evolutionary process and conservation priority of species in the Tibetan Plateau. |
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| Keywords: | Gene flow landscape genetics least cost path method phylogeography Quaternary species distribution models Tibetan Plateau |
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