Projects per year
Abstract
The Eastern Arc Mountains in Tanzania and Kenya are a well known biodiversity
hotspot, presenting a very high rate of endemism. The monotypic, relict dung beetle
genus Grebennikovius (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) has been recorded so far only from the
forest of Uluguru Mounts, but recent sampling efforts have led to its recollection in
several localities in the Ulugurus. We investigated the relationships between different
Grebennikovius populations using morphological and molecular (GMYC, bPTP, ABGD)
species delimitation approaches. Morphospecies identified based on external and genital
morphology are consistent with clades identified by molecular methods. Phylogenetic
relatedness and genetic distance between morphospecies are correlated with geographic
distances, supporting an isolation-by-distance speciation scenario in the ca. 50km long
Uluguru mountain block. The presence of a monophyletic group of dung beetles species
occurring in such a restricted forest patch likely represents an emblematic case of allo- or
parapatric speciation on a very small scale, and rises questions about what geographic
and evolutionary phenomena could have driven arthropod speciation on the Uluguru
Mounts.
hotspot, presenting a very high rate of endemism. The monotypic, relict dung beetle
genus Grebennikovius (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) has been recorded so far only from the
forest of Uluguru Mounts, but recent sampling efforts have led to its recollection in
several localities in the Ulugurus. We investigated the relationships between different
Grebennikovius populations using morphological and molecular (GMYC, bPTP, ABGD)
species delimitation approaches. Morphospecies identified based on external and genital
morphology are consistent with clades identified by molecular methods. Phylogenetic
relatedness and genetic distance between morphospecies are correlated with geographic
distances, supporting an isolation-by-distance speciation scenario in the ca. 50km long
Uluguru mountain block. The presence of a monophyletic group of dung beetles species
occurring in such a restricted forest patch likely represents an emblematic case of allo- or
parapatric speciation on a very small scale, and rises questions about what geographic
and evolutionary phenomena could have driven arthropod speciation on the Uluguru
Mounts.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | -- |
| Publication status | In preparation - 2023 |
| MoE publication type | B3 Article in conference proceedings |
| Event | Willi Hennig Society Meeting XXXIX - Helsinki, Finland Duration: 24 Jul 2022 → 28 Jul 2022 |
Projects
- 2 Finished
-
Reconstructing Evolutionary Dynamics of Phenomes: Integrating Phylogenetic Models and Ontologies
Tarasov, S. (Project manager), Losacco, F. (Participant) & Sasso Porto, D. (Participant)
SUOMEN AKATEMIA Vähäkylä Leena
01/09/2021 → 31/12/2024
Project: Research Council of Finland: Academy Research Fellow's research expenses
-
Unrolling mechanisms of species diversifications using novel phylogenetic methods
Tarasov, S. (Project manager), Merrien, T. (Other), Cardoso, P. (Participant), Montanaro, G. (Participant), Losacco, F. (Participant), Vieira Lopes, F. R. (CoIlaborator) & Sasso Porto, D. (Participant)
01/01/2021 → 01/01/2024
Project: University of Helsinki Three-Year Research Project