Dramatic impact of future climate change on the genetic diversity and distribution of ecologically relevant Western Mediterranean Carex (Cyperaceae)

• Published in: PeerJ (San Francisco, CA) CA), 2022-05, Vol.10, p.e13464, Article e13464
• Main Authors: Benítez-Benítez, Carmen, Sanz-Arnal, María, Urbani, Malvina, Jiménez-Mejías, Pedro, Martín-Bravo, Santiago
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Bioinformatics; Biological diversity; Carex; Carex Plant - genetics; Climate Change; Climate prediction; Conservation; Conservation Biology; Conservation genetics; Conservation status; Cyperaceae; Ecological niche; Ecosystem; Ecosystems; Endangered & extinct species; Evolution; Extinction; Genetic diversity; Genetic structure; Genetic Variation - genetics; Global climate change; Global temperature changes; Habitat loss; Mediterranean basin; Molecular Biology; Plant Science; Population; Restricted endemic; Sibling species; Threatened species
• ISSN: 2167-8359; 2167-8359
• DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13464

Anticipating the evolutionary responses of species to ongoing climate change is essential to propose effective management and conservation measures. The Western Mediterranean Basin constitutes one of the hotspots of biodiversity where the effects of climate change are expected to be more dramatic. Plant species with ecological relevance constitute ideal models to evaluate and predict the impact of climate change on ecosystems. Here we investigate these impacts through the spatio-temporal comparison of genetic diversity/structure (AFLPs), potential distribution under different future scenarios of climate change, and ecological space in two Western Mediterranean sister species of genus . Both species are ecologically key in their riparian habitats, but display contrasting distribution patterns, with one widespread in the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa ( ), while the other ( ) is a restricted, probably endangered, Central Mediterranean endemic. At present, we found a strong genetic structure driven by geography in both species, and lower values of genetic diversity and a narrower ecological space in than in , while the allelic rarity was higher in the former than in subspecies. Future projections predict an overall dramatic reduction of suitable areas for both species under all climate change scenarios, which could be almost total for . In addition, gene diversity was inferred to decrease in all taxa, with genetic structure reinforcing in by the loss of admixture among populations. Our findings stress the need for a reassessment of conservation status under IUCN Red List criteria and the implementation of conservation measures.