Historical Climate Change Dynamics Facilitated Speciation and Hybridization Between Highland and Lowland Species of Baripus Ground Beetles From Patagonia

OLAVE, MELISA; GRIOTTI, MARIANA; CARRARA, ROLDOLFO; FRANCHINI, PAOLO; MEYER, AXEL; ROIG-JUÑENT, SERGIO A.

Bulletin of the Society of Systematic Biologists

Oxford University Press

Lugar: Oxford; Año: 2023 vol. 2 p. 1 - 16

One of the largest beetles of Patagonia, Baripus (Cardiophthalmus), includes 20 currentlydescribed species. Its distribution ranges from the tip of Patagonia, on Tierra del FuegoIsland, to isolated patches along the Andes and extra-Andes mountains in northernPatagonia on the Payunia at >3000 m elevation. Here, using RADseq data, evidence isfound of mixed ancestry in different lineages. Phylogenetic network reconstruction showstwo hybridizing edges between lowland and highland species. Using environmental nichemodeling, we show changes in geographic distribution of potential niches of speciesduring the last glacial maximum compared to their present distribution. Increasingpotential niche overlap among different species pairs possibly explains how lineagescame into secondary contact, supporting the hypothesis of hybridization. In addition,morphological evolution is studied using geometric morphometrics on the network, andevidence of transgressive evolution has been found involving the pronotum shape, as wellas highland/lowland habitat preferences. Finally, based on genomics and morphologicaldata and using an integrative coalescent-based species delimitation approach, theseparate evolution of two lineages in early stages of speciation is found. Taken together,dynamics of diversification of Baripus beetles in both space and time are discussed.