研究人员发现,与整体物种水平中生物多样性的丧失程度相比,由气候变化所导致的一个物种内遗传多样性的丧失更为严重,新成果发表在8月在线出版的《自然—气候变化》。他们指出,在评估气候变化对生物多样性的影响时,应考虑遗传多样性的物种内模式。
Steffen Pauls、Carsten Nowak 和同事合作,估计了欧洲9种山居水生昆虫的线粒体DNA变异,并模拟它们的分布。他们将模拟的2080年的状态与其中会有二氧化碳排放的情形进行了对比。结果显示,这些物种未来分布的收缩将伴随血统遗传进化和遗传多样性的严重丧失。这种在遗传水平上的预测性丧失大大超过了传统描述的物种规模。(生物谷 Bioon.com)
doi:10.1038/nclimate1191
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Cryptic biodiversity loss linked to global climate change
M. Bálint; S. Domisch; C. H. M. Engelhardt; P. Haase; S. Lehrian; J. Sauer; K. Theissinger; S. U. Pauls; C. Nowak
Global climate change (GCC) significantly affects distributional patterns of organisms1, and considerable impacts on biodiversity are predicted for the next decades. Inferred effects include large-scale range shifts towards higher altitudes and latitudes2, facilitation of biological invasions3 and species extinctions1, 3. Alterations of biotic patterns caused by GCC have usually been predicted on the scale of taxonomically recognized morphospecies1. However, the effects of climate change at the most fundamental level of biodiversity—intraspecific genetic diversity—remain elusive4. Here we show that the use of morphospecies-based assessments of GCC effects will result in underestimations of the true scale of biodiversity loss. Species distribution modelling and assessments of mitochondrial DNA variability in nine montane aquatic insect species in Europe indicate that future range contractions will be accompanied by severe losses of cryptic evolutionary lineages and genetic diversity within these lineages. These losses greatly exceed those at the scale of morphospecies. We also document that the extent of range reduction may be a useful proxy when predicting losses of genetic diversity. Our results demonstrate that intraspecific patterns of genetic diversity should be considered when estimating the effects of climate change on biodiversity.