Phylogeography of a morphologically cryptic golden mole assemblage from South-Eastern Africa

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorMynhardt, Samanthaen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorMaree, Saritaen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorPelser, Illonaen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorBennett, Nigel Cen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorBronner, Gary Nen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorWilson, John Wen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorBloomer, Pauletteen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2016-02-10T14:47:52Z
dc.date.available2016-02-10T14:47:52Z
dc.date.issued2015en_ZA
dc.description.abstractThe Greater Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany (GMPA) region of southern Africa was recently designated as a centre of vertebrate endemism. The phylogeography of the vertebrate taxa occupying this region may provide insights into the evolution of faunal endemism in south-eastern Africa. Here we investigate the phylogeographic patterns of an understudied small mammal species assemblage ( Amblysomus ) endemic to the GMPA, to test for cryptic diversity within the genus, and to better understand diversification across the region. We sampled specimens from 50 sites across the distributional range of Amblysomus , with emphasis on the widespread A . hottentotus , to analyse geographic patterns of genetic diversity using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and nuclear intron data. Molecular dating was used to elucidate the evolutionary and phylogeographic history of Amblysomus . Our phylogenetic reconstructions show that A . hottentotus comprises several distinct lineages, or evolutionarily significant units (ESUs), some with restricted geographic ranges and thus worthy of conservation attention. Divergence of the major lineages dated to the early Pliocene, with later radiations in the GMPA during the late-Pliocene to early-Pleistocene. Evolutionary diversification within Amblysomus may have been driven by uplift of the Great Escarpment c. 5-3 million years ago (Ma), habitat changes associated with intensification of the east-west rainfall gradient across South Africa and the influence of subsequent global climatic cycles. These drivers possibly facilitated geographic spread of ancestral lineages, local adaptation and vicariant isolation. Our study adds to growing empirical evidence identifying East and southern Africa as cradles of vertebrate diversity.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationMynhardt, S., Maree, S., Pelser, I., Bennett, N. C., Bronner, G. N., Wilson, J. W., & Bloomer, P. (2015). Phylogeography of a morphologically cryptic golden mole assemblage from South-Eastern Africa. <i>PLoS One</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16955en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationMynhardt, Samantha, Sarita Maree, Illona Pelser, Nigel C Bennett, Gary N Bronner, John W Wilson, and Paulette Bloomer "Phylogeography of a morphologically cryptic golden mole assemblage from South-Eastern Africa." <i>PLoS One</i> (2015) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16955en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationMynhardt, S., Maree, S., Pelser, I., Bennett, N. C., Bronner, G. N., Wilson, J. W., & Bloomer, P. (2015). Phylogeography of a morphologically cryptic golden mole assemblage from South-Eastern Africa. PloS one, 10(12), e0144995. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0144995en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Mynhardt, Samantha AU - Maree, Sarita AU - Pelser, Illona AU - Bennett, Nigel C AU - Bronner, Gary N AU - Wilson, John W AU - Bloomer, Paulette AB - The Greater Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany (GMPA) region of southern Africa was recently designated as a centre of vertebrate endemism. The phylogeography of the vertebrate taxa occupying this region may provide insights into the evolution of faunal endemism in south-eastern Africa. Here we investigate the phylogeographic patterns of an understudied small mammal species assemblage ( Amblysomus ) endemic to the GMPA, to test for cryptic diversity within the genus, and to better understand diversification across the region. We sampled specimens from 50 sites across the distributional range of Amblysomus , with emphasis on the widespread A . hottentotus , to analyse geographic patterns of genetic diversity using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and nuclear intron data. Molecular dating was used to elucidate the evolutionary and phylogeographic history of Amblysomus . Our phylogenetic reconstructions show that A . hottentotus comprises several distinct lineages, or evolutionarily significant units (ESUs), some with restricted geographic ranges and thus worthy of conservation attention. Divergence of the major lineages dated to the early Pliocene, with later radiations in the GMPA during the late-Pliocene to early-Pleistocene. Evolutionary diversification within Amblysomus may have been driven by uplift of the Great Escarpment c. 5-3 million years ago (Ma), habitat changes associated with intensification of the east-west rainfall gradient across South Africa and the influence of subsequent global climatic cycles. These drivers possibly facilitated geographic spread of ancestral lineages, local adaptation and vicariant isolation. Our study adds to growing empirical evidence identifying East and southern Africa as cradles of vertebrate diversity. DA - 2015 DB - OpenUCT DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0144995 DP - University of Cape Town J1 - PLoS One LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2015 T1 - Phylogeography of a morphologically cryptic golden mole assemblage from South-Eastern Africa TI - Phylogeography of a morphologically cryptic golden mole assemblage from South-Eastern Africa UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16955 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0144995en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/16955
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationMynhardt S, Maree S, Pelser I, Bennett NC, Bronner GN, Wilson JW, et al. Phylogeography of a morphologically cryptic golden mole assemblage from South-Eastern Africa. PLoS One. 2015; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16955.en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisherPublic Library of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Biological Sciencesen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.rightsThis is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.en_ZA
dc.rights.holder© 2015 Mynhardt et alen_ZA
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0en_ZA
dc.sourcePLoS Oneen_ZA
dc.source.urihttp://journals.plos.org/plosoneen_ZA
dc.subject.otherPhylogeographyen_ZA
dc.subject.otherHabitatsen_ZA
dc.subject.otherPhylogenetic analysisen_ZA
dc.subject.otherCryptic speciationen_ZA
dc.subject.otherPaleoclimatologyen_ZA
dc.subject.otherPliocene epochen_ZA
dc.subject.otherConservation geneticsen_ZA
dc.subject.otherGrasslandsen_ZA
dc.titlePhylogeography of a morphologically cryptic golden mole assemblage from South-Eastern Africaen_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Mynhardt_Phylogeography_Golden_Mole_2015.pdf
Size:
4.1 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
Collections
Journal Articles