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Are Disjunct Alpine and Arctic-Alpine Animal and Plant Species in the Western Palearctic Really “Relics of a Cold Past”?

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Relict Species

Abstract

The climatic fluctuations during the Pleistocene as well as the Holocene warming caused numerous disjunctions of cold-adapted, arctic-alpine, and alpine biota. However, the depths of the genetic splits among the disjunct parts of the species distributions vary considerably. The arctic ranges are usually weakly differentiated, and great similarity with at least some areas in more Southern regions is frequently found. Likewise, major mountain ranges in geographic proximity often share genetically similar populations. However, the genetic constitution of populations from more remote (predominantly Southern) mountain systems is strongly different from all other populations. This suggests recent vicariance events in the two former groups, but long-lasting isolation in the latter group, which apparently is mostly composed of relics of a more distant cold past.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biogeography, Trier University, D-54286, Trier, Germany

    Thomas Schmitt

  2. Molecular Evolution and Animal Systematics, Institute of Zoology II, University of Leipzig, Talstraße 33, D-04103, Leipzig, Germany

    Christoph Muster

  3. Department of Plant Biogeography, Faculty Centre Biodiversity, University of Vienna, A-1030, Wien, Austria

    Peter Schönswetter

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  1. Thomas Schmitt
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  2. Christoph Muster
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Correspondence to Thomas Schmitt .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Musée National d´Histoire Naturelle Luxembourg, 25, rue Münster, 2160, Luxembourg

    Jan Christian Habel

  2. Institute of Ecology and Environmental Chemistry, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Scharnhorststr. 1, 21335, Lüneburg, Germany

    Thorsten Assmann

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Schmitt, T., Muster, C., Schönswetter, P. (2010). Are Disjunct Alpine and Arctic-Alpine Animal and Plant Species in the Western Palearctic Really “Relics of a Cold Past”?. In: Habel, J.C., Assmann, T. (eds) Relict Species. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-92160-8_13

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