Dispersal vs. vicariance in the Mediterranean: historical biogeography of the Palearctic Pachydeminae (Coleoptera, Scarabaeoidea)

Aim The geological evolution of the Mediterranean region is largely the result of the Tertiary collision of the African and Eurasian Plates, but also a mosaic of migrating island arcs, fragmenting tectonic belts, and extending back‐arc basins. Such complex paleogeography has resulted in a ‘reticulate’ biogeographical history, in which Mediterranean biotas repeatedly fragmented and merged as dispersal barriers appeared and disappeared through time. In this study, dispersal‐vicariance analysis (DIVA) is used to assess the relative role played by dispersal and vicariance in shaping distribution patterns in the beetle subfamily Pachydeminae Reitter, 1902 (Scarabaeoidea), an example of east–west Mediterranean disjunction. Location The Mediterranean region, including North Africa, the western Mediterranean, Balkans–Anatolia, Middle East, Caucasus, the Iranian Plateau, and Central Asia. Methods A phylogenetic hypothesis of the Palearctic genera of Pachydeminae in conjunction with distributional data was analysed using DIVA. This method reconstructs the ancestral distribution in a given phylogeny based on the vicariance model, while allowing dispersal and extinction to occur. Unlike other methods, DIVA does not enforce area relationships to conform to a hierarchical ‘area cladogram’, so it can be used to reconstruct ‘reticulate’ biogeographical scenarios. Results Optimal reconstructions, requiring 23 dispersal events, suggest that the ancestor of Pachydeminae was originally present in the south‐east Mediterranean region. Basal splitting within the subfamily was caused by vicariance events related to the late Tertiary collision of the African microplates Apulia and Arabia with Eurasia, and the resultant arise of successive dispersal barriers (e.g. the Red Sea, the Zagros Mountains). Subsequent diversification in Pachydeminae involved multiple speciation events within the Middle East and Iran–Afghanistan regions, which gave rise to the least speciose genera of Pachydeminae (e.g. Otoclinius Brenske, 1896). Finally, the presence of Pachydeminae in the western Mediterranean region seems to be the result of a recent dispersal event. The ancestor of the Iberian genera Ceramida Baraud, 1987 and Elaphocera Gené, 1836 probably dispersed from the Middle East to the Iberian Peninsula across North Africa and the Gibraltar Strait during the ‘Messinian salinity crisis’ at the end of the Miocene. Main conclusions Although the basal diversification of Pachydeminae around the Mediterranean appears to be related to vicariance events linked to the geological formation of the Mediterranean Basin, dispersal has also played a very important role. Nearly 38% of the speciation events in the phylogeny resulted from dispersal to a new area followed by allopatric speciation between lineages. Relationships between western and eastern Mediterranean disjuncts are usually explained by dispersal through Central Europe. The biogeographical history of the Pachydeminae corroborates other biogeographical studies that consider North Africa to be an alternative dispersal route by which Mediterranean taxa could have achieved circum‐Mediterranean distributions.     

Chorology of the Euxinian and Hyrcanian element in the woody flora of Asia

The Euxinian and the Hyrcanian floristic province are analysed in respect to their trees and shrubs. These provinces mark the southern limit of the Euro-Siberian Region in SW. Asia. Mesophyllic forests dominate; they are deciduous, but there is a substantial component of evergreen shrubs in the understorey. Characteristics species frequently have a relic nature. Species lists and some exemplary distribution maps are presented for the Euxinian and the Hyrcanian element, both with endemic and more wide-spread species, including the characteristic Euxine-Hyrcanian group.     

碳排放影响下中国省域旅游效率损失度研究

旅游效率损失度反映了碳排放对旅游效率的影响程度。采用超越对数生产函数测算2001—2014年中国30个省(区、市)的旅游效率及损失度,并运用面板回归模型分析效率损失的驱动力。结果表明:(1)碳排放对中国各省(区、市),尤其是中部省份的旅游效率造成了损失。研究期内,中国总体旅游效率损失度呈现上升趋势,东部地区年均增幅最大;(2)中国旅游效率与损失度总体上处于中等水平,但损失度年均增长率远高于旅游效率增长率,中部地区因为排放问题造成了较大的效率损失;(3)根据不同省域旅游效率及其损失度,可划分为"高效低损、高效高损、低效低损、低效高损"4种类型区;(4)基础设施、旅游接待能力、旅游吸引力、旅游产业规模、旅游产业结构、能源技术对不同类型区的影响存在差异,应根据外力驱动大小和作用方向调整旅游效率优化策略。     

Evolution, origin and age of lineages in the Californian and Mediterranean floras

This paper addresses some of the conceptual issues involved in the analysis of the age and origin of mediterranean‐climate plant taxa, paying particular attention to three topics: (1) the importance of an explicit time frame in the definition of biogeographical origins, (2) the distinction between the age of traits and the age of taxa, and (3) the idea of mediterranean‐type ecosystems as environmental islands. (1) In California, recent analyses demonstrate that the diversity of species derived from different biogeographical origins is significantly correlated with temperature and precipitation gradients. These patterns support the hypothesis that niche conservatism is an important factor structuring modern diversity gradients. However, depending on how far back in time one looks, a species may be assigned to different origins; future discussions of biogeographical origins need to address the appropriate time frame for analysis. (2) Past research has demonstrated distinctive trait syndromes among woody plants of the Mediterranean, Chile, California and Mexico, and proposed that the syndromes are associated with lineages of different age in these floras. Reanalysis of individual traits demonstrates greater variability among regions than previously reported. The classification of plants into ‘old’ and ‘new’ genera is re‐evaluated, and it is suggested that greater attention be paid to the age of traits, rather than to the age of taxa, especially at an arbitrary rank such as genus. (3) The idea of mediterranean‐climate regions as ‘climatic islands’ is examined. Space–time diagrams of climate enable one to view the emergence of distinctive climatic regions in a continental context. The terms ‘synclimatic’ and ‘anticlimatic’ are proposed, referring to migration routes that parallel climate contours in space and time versus those that cross contours (including the case of geographic stasis in the face of climate change), respectively. Mediterranean‐climate regions have served as important case studies in plant ecology and evolution, and merit continued close examination in the light of continued advances in phylogenetics and palaeoecology.     

Phytogeographical affinities at the crossroads of two continents: Distribution patterns of Lamiaceae in Chios Island (East Aegean Islands,Greece) and Çeşme–Karaburun Peninsula (West Anatolia,Turkey)

The East Aegean (East Aegean Islands, Greece and West Anatolia, Turkey) is a biogeographically transitional region, where biodiversity elements from Europe and Asia join. However, affinities in the region were until recently scarcely explored. We assess biogeographical affinities in the East Aegean focusing on distribution patterns of Lamiaceae plants in Chios Island and its adjacent Çe?me–Karaburun Peninsula. Detailed in-situ record was acquired for 48 native species. These were grouped based on their habitat and geological substrate preference, their distribution was mapped in grid cells and distribution patterns were analysed in relation to species groupings. In both Chios and Çe?me–Karaburun, species follow five distribution patterns: widespread, locally widespread, locally restricted, sporadic and rare. Fifty to 62% of the species exhibit similar distribution patterns, trends in habitat and geological substrate preference in Chios and Çe?me–Karaburun, results complying with previous evidence of close biogeographical affinities of the East Aegean Islands and neighbouring Anatolia. Differences observed between the two regions may be attributed to insularity effects, human impact and the melange, an old rock matrix known for its key role in elucidating regional geodynamic evolution. Distributions of widespread and locally widespread species in Chios give evidence of density compensation and niche shifts responses, however, the actual occurrence of these phenomena in island plant populations is still to be elucidated. Overall, the species distribution patterns, particularly those of rare ones, reflect the complex geological history, palaeogeography and human influence in the Aegean region.     

Evolutionary history and climate conditions constrain the flower colours of woody plants in China

进化历史和气候条件共同影响中国木本植物花色的分布 本研究以中国木本植物为研究对象,主要探讨两个问题：(1)不同生活型物种花色组成的差异;(2)生物地理区、进化年龄和气候条件对不同花色地理分布格局的影响。研究使用7673种木本植物的物种分布数据和花色信息(分为白色、红色、黄色、黄绿色、绿色和蓝紫色),并结合属级系统进化树来比较不同生活型(包括灌木、乔木和藤本)物种花色组成的差异,分析不同生物地理区、进化年龄和现代气候对花色地理格局的影响。研究结果表明,与乔木和藤本植物相比,灌木具有更高比例 的由花青素着色的红色花和蓝紫色花物种。中国木本植物的花色地理格局受到区域效应和现代气候(尤其是降水和UVB辐射)的共同影响。倾向于蜂媒传粉的黄色花和蓝紫色花物种和由花青素着色、耐环境胁迫的红色花和蓝紫色花物种比例在中国西北部地区更高。绿色花物种的进化起源更早,但进化时间对花色地理格局的解释力很弱。这些结果说明中国木本植物花色的地理格局受到进化历史和现代环境的共同影响。     

Current biogeographical roles of the Kunlun Mountains

Large‐scale patterns of biodiversity and formation have garnered increasing attention in biogeography and macroecology. The Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau (QTP) is an ideal area for exploring these issues. However, the QTP consists of multiple geographic subunits, which are understudied. The Kunlun Mountains is a geographical subunit situated in the northern edge of the QTP, in northwest China. The diversity pattern, community phylogenetic structures, and biogeographical roles of the current flora of the Kunlun Mountains were analyzed by collecting and integrating plant distribution, regional geological evolution, and phylogeography. A total of 1911 species, 397 genera, and 75 families present on the Kunlun Mountains, of which 29.8% of the seed plants were endemic to China. The mean divergence time (MDT) of the Kunlun Mountains flora was in the early Miocene (19.40 Ma). Analysis of plant diversity and MDT indicated that the eastern regions of the Kunlun Mountains were the center of species richness, endemic taxa, and ancient taxa. Geographical origins analysis showed that the Kunlun Mountains flora was diverse and that numerous clades were from East Asia and Tethyan. Analysis of geographical origins and geological history together highlighted that the extant biodiversity on the Kunlun Mountains appeared through species recolonization after climatic fluctuations and glaciations during the Quaternary. The nearest taxon index speculated that habitat filtering was the most important driving force for biodiversity patterns. These results suggest that the biogeographical roles of the Kunlun Mountains are corridor and sink, and the corresponding key processes are species extinction and immigration. The Kunlun Mountains also form a barrier, representing a boundary among multiple floras, and convert the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau into a relatively closed geographical unit.