Integrating Multiple Lines of Evidence to Explore Intraspecific Variability in a Rare Endemic Alpine Plant and Implications for its Conservation
We studied the ecology, distribution, and phylogeography of <i>Tephroseris balbisiana</i>, a rare plant whose range is centered to the South-Western Alps. Our aim was to assess the extent of intraspecific variability within the nominal species and the conservation status of isolated popu...
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doaj-4ef2bf53d6774aa0b0f6a3abe206aef22020-11-25T03:00:35ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472020-09-0191160116010.3390/plants9091160Integrating Multiple Lines of Evidence to Explore Intraspecific Variability in a Rare Endemic Alpine Plant and Implications for its ConservationMartino Adamo0Stefano Mammola1Virgile Noble2Marco Mucciarelli3Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e Biologia dei Sistemi, Università degli Studi di Torino, Viale Pier Andrea Mattioli, 25, 10125 Torino, ItalyMolecular Ecology Group (MEG), Water Research Institute (IRSA), National Research Council (CNR), Corso Tonolli, 50, 28922 Verbania, ItalyConservatoire Botanique National Méditerranéen, Avenue Gambetta 34, 83400 Hyères-les-palmiers, FranceDipartimento di Scienze della Vita e Biologia dei Sistemi, Università degli Studi di Torino, Viale Pier Andrea Mattioli, 25, 10125 Torino, ItalyWe studied the ecology, distribution, and phylogeography of <i>Tephroseris balbisiana</i>, a rare plant whose range is centered to the South-Western Alps. Our aim was to assess the extent of intraspecific variability within the nominal species and the conservation status of isolated populations. We studied genetic diversity across the whole species range. We analyzed leaf traits, which are distinctive morphological characters within the <i>Tephroseris</i> genus. A clear pattern of genetic variation was found among populations of <i>T. balbisiana,</i> which clustered according to their geographic position. On the contrary, there was a strong overlap in the morphological space of individuals across the species’ range, with few peripheral populations diverging in their leaf morphology. Studying habitat suitability by means of species distribution models, we observed that <i>T. balbisiana</i> range is primarily explained by solar radiation and precipitation seasonality. Environmental requirements could explain the genetic and morphological uniformity of <i>T. balbisiana</i> in its core distribution area and justify genetic, morphological, and ecological divergences found among the isolated populations of the Apennines. Our findings emphasize the need to account for the whole diversity of a species, comprising peripheral populations, in order to better estimate its status and to prioritize areas for its conservation.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/9/9/1160Apenninesgenetic diversityleaf morphologySouth-Western Alpsspecies distribution modelling<i>Tephroseris balbisiana</i> |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Martino Adamo Stefano Mammola Virgile Noble Marco Mucciarelli |
spellingShingle |
Martino Adamo Stefano Mammola Virgile Noble Marco Mucciarelli Integrating Multiple Lines of Evidence to Explore Intraspecific Variability in a Rare Endemic Alpine Plant and Implications for its Conservation Plants Apennines genetic diversity leaf morphology South-Western Alps species distribution modelling <i>Tephroseris balbisiana</i> |
author_facet |
Martino Adamo Stefano Mammola Virgile Noble Marco Mucciarelli |
author_sort |
Martino Adamo |
title |
Integrating Multiple Lines of Evidence to Explore Intraspecific Variability in a Rare Endemic Alpine Plant and Implications for its Conservation |
title_short |
Integrating Multiple Lines of Evidence to Explore Intraspecific Variability in a Rare Endemic Alpine Plant and Implications for its Conservation |
title_full |
Integrating Multiple Lines of Evidence to Explore Intraspecific Variability in a Rare Endemic Alpine Plant and Implications for its Conservation |
title_fullStr |
Integrating Multiple Lines of Evidence to Explore Intraspecific Variability in a Rare Endemic Alpine Plant and Implications for its Conservation |
title_full_unstemmed |
Integrating Multiple Lines of Evidence to Explore Intraspecific Variability in a Rare Endemic Alpine Plant and Implications for its Conservation |
title_sort |
integrating multiple lines of evidence to explore intraspecific variability in a rare endemic alpine plant and implications for its conservation |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Plants |
issn |
2223-7747 |
publishDate |
2020-09-01 |
description |
We studied the ecology, distribution, and phylogeography of <i>Tephroseris balbisiana</i>, a rare plant whose range is centered to the South-Western Alps. Our aim was to assess the extent of intraspecific variability within the nominal species and the conservation status of isolated populations. We studied genetic diversity across the whole species range. We analyzed leaf traits, which are distinctive morphological characters within the <i>Tephroseris</i> genus. A clear pattern of genetic variation was found among populations of <i>T. balbisiana,</i> which clustered according to their geographic position. On the contrary, there was a strong overlap in the morphological space of individuals across the species’ range, with few peripheral populations diverging in their leaf morphology. Studying habitat suitability by means of species distribution models, we observed that <i>T. balbisiana</i> range is primarily explained by solar radiation and precipitation seasonality. Environmental requirements could explain the genetic and morphological uniformity of <i>T. balbisiana</i> in its core distribution area and justify genetic, morphological, and ecological divergences found among the isolated populations of the Apennines. Our findings emphasize the need to account for the whole diversity of a species, comprising peripheral populations, in order to better estimate its status and to prioritize areas for its conservation. |
topic |
Apennines genetic diversity leaf morphology South-Western Alps species distribution modelling <i>Tephroseris balbisiana</i> |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/9/9/1160 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT martinoadamo integratingmultiplelinesofevidencetoexploreintraspecificvariabilityinarareendemicalpineplantandimplicationsforitsconservation AT stefanomammola integratingmultiplelinesofevidencetoexploreintraspecificvariabilityinarareendemicalpineplantandimplicationsforitsconservation AT virgilenoble integratingmultiplelinesofevidencetoexploreintraspecificvariabilityinarareendemicalpineplantandimplicationsforitsconservation AT marcomucciarelli integratingmultiplelinesofevidencetoexploreintraspecificvariabilityinarareendemicalpineplantandimplicationsforitsconservation |
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