Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Peripheral Relict Populations of Widespread Species; Evolutionary Hotspots or Just More of the Same?

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Relict Species

Abstract

Relicts are species with a former, more widespread distribution range but can also include specific populations in parts of a species distribution (thus called relict populations). Such populations are often found towards the species range limits where conditions may be less optimal than in the more central parts. For peripheral relict populations to be valuable for conservation from a biodiversity point of view, they should be exposed to selection pressures that are different from the more central ones allowing for unique adaptations to arise. I will discuss data from studies of two closely related butterfly species where the aim was to evaluate the uniqueness of marginal relict populations in relation to their more central counterparts. Neutral genetic variation and values of adaptive wing traits among populations of the scarce heath (Coenonympha hero) and the pearly heath (C. arcania) from three biogeographically different regions were compared representing one central and two peripheral parts of their distributions; one peripheral connected to and one isolated from the main area of their distributions. Individuals from the isolated region were significantly differentiated from the peripheral and central regions in both neutral genetic traits and adaptive wing traits, while the peripheral and central populations showed no signs of differentiation in both trait types. I will discuss the possible mechanisms behind the observed patterns and show that the peripheral, relict populations of also widespread species can contribute with valuable and unique genetic variation. Marginal relict populations constitute ideal study objects of evolution in marginal habitats as they can be used to test how well theory and laboratory experiments reflects more complex natural systems.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Berglind S-Å (1990) Meadow butterflies about to be replaced by spruce plants. Värmlandsnatur 4:12–17 in Swedish

    Google Scholar 

  • Berglind S-Å (2007) Coenonympha hero Linné 1761, Scarce Heath. Species fact sheet (in Swedish). In: Rödlistade arter i Sverige - The 200 Swedish Red List of Swedish Species (ed. Gärdenfors U), p. http://www.artdata.slu.se. Swedish Species Information Centre, SLU, Uppsala

  • Berwaerts K, Aerts P, Van Dyck H (2006) On the sex-specific mechanisms of butterfly flight: flight performance relative to flight morphology, wing kinematics, and sex in Pararge aegeria. Biol J Lin Soc (Lond) 89:675–687

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berwaerts K, Van Dyck H, Aerts P (2002) Does flight morphology relate to flight performance? An experimental test with the butterfly Pararge aegeria. Funct Ecol 16:484–491

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Besold J, Schmitt T, Tammaru T, Cassel-Lundhagen A (2008) Strong genetic impoverishment from the centre of distribution in Southern Europe to peripheral Baltic and isolated Scandinavian populations. Journal of Biogeography 35:2090–2101

    Google Scholar 

  • Betts CR, Wootton RJ (1988) Wing shape and flight behaviour in butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea): a preliminary analysis. J Exp Biol 138:271–288

    Google Scholar 

  • Bulmer MG (1971) The effect of selection on genetic variability. Am Nat 105:201

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cassel-Lundhagen A, Tammaru T, Windig J, N R, S N (2009) Are peripheral populations special? Congruent patterns in two butterfly species. Ecography (online)

    Google Scholar 

  • Cassel A, Tammaru T (2003) Allozyme variability in central, peripheral and isolated populations of the scarce heath (Coenonympha hero: Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae); implications for conservation. Conserv Genet 4:83–93

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chakraborty R, Nei M (1977) Bottleneck effects on average heterozygosity and genetic distance with stepwise mutation model. Evolution 31:347–356

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Channell R, Lomolino MV (2000) Dynamic biogeography and conservation of endangered species. Nature 403:84–86

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Clare L, Hughes CDJKH (2007) Modelling and analysing evolution of dispersal in populations at expanding range boundaries. Ecol Entomol 32:437–445

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cody ML, Overton JM (1996) Short-term evolution of reduced dispersal in island plant populations. J Ecol 84:53–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dahlström A, Cousins SAO, Eriksson O (2006) The history (1620–2003) of land use, people and livestock, and the relationship to present plant species diversity in a rural landscape in Sweden. Environ Hist 12:191–212

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis M (1984) The flight and migration ecology of the red milkweed beetle (Tetraopes teraphthalmus). Ecology 64:230–234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dempster JP (1991) Fragmentation, isolation and mobility of insect populations. In: Collins N, Thomas J) (eds) The conservation of insects and their habitats. Academic Press Ltd, London, pp 143–153

    Google Scholar 

  • den Boer PJ (1990) The survival value of dispersal in terrestrial arthropods. Biol Conserv 54:175–192

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eckert CG, Samis KE, Lougheed SC (2008) Genetic variation across species’ geographical ranges: the central-marginal hypothesis and beyond. Mol Ecol 17:1170–1188

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Eliasson C (2005) Coenonympha arcania Pärlgräsfjäril. In: Nationalnyckeln till Sveriges flora och fauna. Fjärilar: Dagfjärilar. Hesperidae - Nymphalidae, Artdatabanken, SLU, Uppsala, pp 331–332

    Google Scholar 

  • Eliasson C, Ryrholm N, Holmer M, Jilg K, Gärdenfors U (2005) Nationalnyckeln till Sveriges flora och fauna. Dagfjärilar. Hesperidae - Nymphalidae Artdatabanken, SLU, Uppsala, Fjärilar

    Google Scholar 

  • Fric Z, Konvička M (2002) Generations of the polyphenic butterfly Araschnia levana differ in body design. Evol Ecol Res 4:1017–1032

    Google Scholar 

  • Garcia-Ramos G, Kirkpatrick M (1997) Genetic models of adaptation and gene flow in peripheral populations. Evolution 51:21–28

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gullberg A, Olsson M, Tegelström H (1998) Colonization, genetic diversity, and evolution in the Swedish sand lizard, Lacerta agilis(Reptilia, Squamata). Biol J Linn Soc 65:257–277

    Google Scholar 

  • Gärdenfors U (2005) The 2005 Red List of Swedish Species. Swedish Species Information Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden, Uppsala

    Google Scholar 

  • Haynes K, Cronin J (2006) Interpatch movement and edge effects: the role of behavioral responses to the landscape matrix. OIKOS 113:43–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heino M, Hanski I (2001) Evolution of migration rate in a spatially realistic metapopulation model. Am Nat 157:495–511

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Helgadóttir Á, Snaydon RW (1986) Patterns of genetic variation among populations of Poa pratensis L. and Poa capillaris L. from Britain and Iceland. J Appl Ecol 23:703–719

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kawecki TJ (2008) Adaptation to marginal habitats. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 39:321–342

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kesküla T (1992) Distribution maps of Estonian butterflies (Lepidoptera: Hesperioidea, Papilionoidea). In: Acta Musei Zoologici Universitatis Tartuensis, Tartu

    Google Scholar 

  • Kudrna O (2002) The distribution atlas of European butterflies. Oedippus 20:1–342

    Google Scholar 

  • Lesica P, Allendorf FW (1995) When are peripheral populations valuable for conservation? Conserv Biol 9:753–760

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayr E (1954) Change of genetic environment and evolution. In: Huxley J, Hardy A, Ford E (eds) Evolution as a process. Allen and Unwin, London, pp 157–180

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayr E (1963) Animal species and evolution. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA

    Google Scholar 

  • Merckx T, Van Dyck H (2006) Landscape structure and phenotypic plasticity in flight morphology in the butterfly pararge aegeria. OIKOS 113:226–232

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nilsson N-E (1990) National atlas of Sweden The forest (in Swedish). Skogsstyrelsen, Jönköping

    Google Scholar 

  • Palang H, Mander Ü, Luud A (1998) Landscape diversity changes in Estonia. Landsc Urban Plan 41:163–169

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roff DA (1997) Evolutionary quantitative genetics. Chapman and Hall, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Schtickzelle N, Mennechez G, Baguette M (2006) Dispersal depression with habitat fragmentation in the bog fritillary butterfly. Ecology 87:1057–1065

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas CD, Hill JK, Lewis OT (1998) Evolutionary consequences of habitat fragmentation in a localized butterfly. J Anim Ecol 67:485–497

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tolman T, Lewington R (1998) Die Tagfalter Europas und Nordwestafrikas. Franckh-Kosmos Verlag, Stuttgart

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

I thank all co authors and collaborators involved in various parts of the projects. Thanks to Atte Komonen, Ane Laugen and Thomas Schmitt for valuable comments on earlier versions of this manuscript. Part of the data presented here originates from work that was done at the Department of Conservation Biology and Genetics of Uppsala University, Sweden, and at the Department of Biogeography of University of Trier, Germany.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Ulls väg 16, SE-75007, Uppsala, Sweden

    Anna Cassel-Lundhagen

Authors
  1. Anna Cassel-Lundhagen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anna Cassel-Lundhagen .

Editor information

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

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this paper

Cite this paper

Cassel-Lundhagen, A. (2010). Peripheral Relict Populations of Widespread Species; Evolutionary Hotspots or Just More of the Same?. In: Habel, J.C., Assmann, T. (eds) Relict Species. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-92160-8_15

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation