Biogeography of Iberian Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Open Access
- 18 February 2021
- Vol. 13 (2), 88
- https://doi.org/10.3390/d13020088
Abstract
Ants are highly diverse in the Iberian Peninsula (IP), both in species richness (299 cited species) and in number of endemic species (72). The Iberian ant fauna is one of the richest in the broader Mediterranean region, it is similar to the Balkan Peninsula but lower than Greece or Israel, when species richness is controlled by the surface area. In this first general study on the biogeography of Iberian ants, we propose seven chorological categories for grouping thems. Moreover, we also propose eight biogeographic refugium areas, based on the criteria of “refugia-within-refugium” in the IP. We analysed species richness, occurrence and endemism in all these refugium areas, which we found to be significantly different as far as ant similarity was concerned. Finally, we collected published evidence of biological traits, molecular phylogenies, fossil deposits and geological processes to be able to infer the most probable centre of origin and dispersal routes followed for the most noteworthy ants in the IP. As a result, we have divided the Iberian myrmecofauna into four biogeographical groups: relict, Asian-IP disjunct, Baetic-Rifan and Alpine. To sum up, our results support biogeography as being a significant factor for determining the current structure of ant communities, especially in the very complex and heterogenous IP. Moreover, the taxonomic diversity and distribution patterns we describe in this study highlight the utility of Iberian ants for understanding the complex evolutionary history and biogeography of the Iberian Peninsula.Keywords
Funding Information
- Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (project RTA2015-00012-C02-02)
This publication has 82 references indexed in Scilit:
- FORMIDABEL: The Belgian Ants DatabaseZooKeys, 2013
- A preliminary checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of AndorraZooKeys, 2013
- Phylogenetic Relationships of Palaearctic Formica Species (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) Based on Mitochondrial Cytochrome b SequencesPLOS ONE, 2012
- Terrestrial arthropod fauna of arid areas of SE Spain: Diversity, biogeography, and conservationJournal of Arid Environments, 2011
- Phylogeography and demographic history of Lacerta lepida in the Iberian Peninsula: multiple refugia, range expansions and secondary contact zonesBMC Evolutionary Biology, 2011
- A Mammalian Lost World in Southwest Europe during the Late PliocenePLOS ONE, 2009
- Evolution and the latitudinal diversity gradient: speciation, extinction and biogeographyEcology Letters, 2007
- Molecular biogeography of Europe: Pleistocene cycles and postglacial trendsFrontiers in Zoology, 2007
- Giant ants from the Paleogene of Denmark with a discussion of the fossil history and early evolution of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 1999
- Wing reduction in ant queens from arid habitatsThe Science of Nature, 1992