2025/06/01 by Vazrick Nazari, Jan Christian Habel, Thomas Schmitt +1 · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Environmental Science · #African Botany and Ecology Studies #Mediterranean and Iberian flora and fauna #Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.1093/biolinnean/blaf029
openalex publication_date 2025/06/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Abstract Pleistocene climate fluctuations have led to major changes in the distribution ranges of species. These range shifts and historical distribution patterns are today reflected in the genetic structures of species. Most phylogeographic studies cover large parts of the western Palearctic including the Maghreb region. However, few studies have considered the Central Saharan mountain ranges, although numerous western Palearctic species are also found there. In this study, we investigate the genetic structures of nine butterfly species from the Hoggar Mountains in the Central Sahara, and compare their genetic structure with individuals from neighbouring regions in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. In addition to these phylogeographic data, we calculate species distribution models of the considered species reflecting the distribution of their potential climatic niches for different time periods. Despite strong geographic isolation by the Sahara Desert, all assessed butterfly species from the Hoggar Mountains revealed only little to no genetic differentiation from their conspecifics across their range. Species distribution modelling suggests that most of these butterflies colonized the Hoggar Mountains since the ‘Green Sahara’ period some few thousand years ago.