The interaction of climate history and evolution impacts alpine biodiversity assembly differently in freshwater and on land

Abstract

Quaternary climate fluctuations can affect biodiversity assembly through speciation in two non-mutually-exclusive ways: a glacial species pump, where isolation in glacial refugia accelerates allopatric speciation, and adaptive radiation during ice-free periods. Here we detected biogeographic and genetic signatures associated with both mechanisms in the generation of the European Alps biodiversity. Age distributions of endemic and widespread species within aquatic and terrestrial taxa (amphipods, fishes, amphibians, butterflies and flowering plants) revealed that endemic fish evolved only in lakes, are highly sympatric and mainly of Holocene age, consistent with adaptive radiation. Endemic amphipods are ancient, suggesting preglacial radiation with limited range expansion and local Pleistocene survival, perhaps facilitated by a groundwater-dwelling lifestyle. Terrestrial endemics are mostly of Pleistocene age, and are thus more consistent with the glacial species pump. The lack of evidence for Holocene adaptive radiation in the terrestrial biome may be attributable to a faster range expansion of these taxa after glacial retreats, though fewer stable environments may also have contributed to differences between terrestrial areas and lakes. The high proportion of young, endemic species make the Alps vulnerable to climate change, but the mechanisms and consequences of species loss will likely differ between biomes because of their distinct histories.