Ploidy can serve as an excellent diagnostic character and proxy for evolutionary and reproductive behaviour, particularly in taxonomically complicated apomictic genera. In Rubus, ploidy level has so ...far been established for 230 European species (ca 30% of the total), mainly from Western or central Europe. We present the first DNA ploidy data for 25 described species and 22 undescribed stable morphotypes from the Pannonian Basin and the northern Balkans (8 countries). We also review previously published ploidy data covering the entire bramble flora of the studied area (78 recognized species in total). The most common ploidy level is tetraploid, which is the only ploidy level in most series (e.g. Micantes, Rhamnifolii, Sylvatici). This likely reflects elevated sexuality and the higher probability of new species formation via hybridization in tetraploids compared to other ploidy levels. As in central Europe but unlike in other regions, we also recorded many triploid species, namely in ser. Discolores (19 species) and ser. Rubus (four species). The diversity of triploid Discolores in the region may be linked to the occurrence of diploid R. canescens, making the region a hot spot of triploid Rubus diversity. Six pentaploid and a single hexaploid species, all from sect. Corylifolii, were recorded. Ploidy proved to be a good diagnostic character for several species that are difficult to distinguish morphologically, confirming its importance in inventories of brambles. One of these species is described here as R. praecocifrons Király & Trávn.
Human activities affect all ecosystems, within that the grasslands have often been subject to intensive modification due to agricultural use and fragmentation. The result is a biodiversity crisis, on ...which detailed agri-environment schemes can help. For the compilation of perspective schemes, it is crucial to know the minimal area that can provide habitats for stable, species-rich insect assemblages in optimal land use.
This research aimed to collect detailed data for phrasing patch-size centric conservation strategies on orthopteran assemblages, being an umbrella taxon, in two areas of the Pannonian Ecoregion. In narrow (radius = 25 m) and broader (
r
= 50, 75, 100 m) environments of the assemblages, we have searched for that habitat patch size, where the primary vegetation characteristics (cover, height, composition) affect the main features of the orthopteran assemblages and relative abundances of the species to the highest degree.
According to our results, ecotype diversity of orthopteran assemblages showed the strongest correlations with average maximum grassland height and density at the finest studied scale (
r
= 25 m). Still, the vegetation heterogeneity significantly determines the life-form diversity of the assemblages in the larger habitat patches. Consequently, a minimum of one hectare-sized well-managed habitat patches are needed to conserve diverse, species-rich orthopteran assemblages. Specific conservation implications are adequate for preserving the main characteristics of the minimal-sized grassland patches under global warming are simulate the traditional low-intensity land use (dominated by mowing diversified both spatially and temporally).
The Euro-Siberian steppe flora consists of warm- and cold-adapted species, which may have responded differently to Pleistocene glacials and interglacials. Genotyping-by-sequencing individuals from ...across the distribution range of the pheasant's eye (Adonis vernalis), we aimed to gain insight into steppe florogenesis based on the species' evolutionary history. Although the primary area of origin of the species group comprising A. vernalis, A. villosa and A. volgensis is in Asia, our results indicate that recent populations of A. vernalis are not of Asian origin but evolved in the southern part of Europe during the Pleistocene, with Spanish populations clearly genetically distinct from the Southeastern European populations. We inferred that A. vernalis migrated eastwards from the sub-Mediterranean forest-steppes of Southeastern Europe into the continental forest-steppe zone. Eastern European populations had the highest private allelic richness, indicating long-term large population sizes in this region. As a thermophilic species, A. vernalis seems unlikely to have survived in the cold deserts of the Last Glacial Maximum in Western Siberia, so this region was likely (re)colonized postglacially. Overall, our results reinforce the importance of identifying the area of origin and the corresponding ecological requirements of steppe plants in order to understand the composition of today's steppe flora.
Rubus ser. Micantes Sudre (Rosaceae) includes apomictic polyploid species of hybrid origin, which occur in north-western and central Europe, with rare outposts south-east of the Alps. The first ...regionally distributed representative of the series occurring in Italy, Rubus vallis-cembrae Prosser & Király, is described here as a morphologically unique, isolated tetraploid species. The new species is morphologically compared with related taxa of the series. Furthermore, comprehensive iconography and data on distribution and ecology are presented. Citation: Prosser F. & Király G. 2019: Extending the range of Rubus ser. Micantes (Rosaceae) southward: Rubus vallis-cembrae, a unique new species from Italy. – Willdenowia 49: 167–175. doi: https://doi.org/10.3372/wi.49.49205 Version of record first published online on 27 June 2019 ahead of inclusion in August 2019 issue.
The Euro-Siberian steppes have experienced large-scale range fluctuations due to the climatic changes of the Pleistocene that may have also fuelled reshuffling of past steppe vegetation. These ...species-rich steppe grasslands were much more widespread during glacials and contracted during interglacials, a dynamic which should also be reflected by the evolutionary history of their biota. Astragalus austriacus is a widespread steppe species with European-western Siberian distribution and an ideal model to study the florogenesis of the Euro-Siberian steppes. Here, we inferred the phylogeography of A. austriacus based on genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) data from populations sampled from the western edge of the Pannonian region across the Pontic region to the western Siberian region. Additionally, we applied molecular dating using single gene sequence data (ycf1, matK and ITS). We outline an evolutionary scenario in which intraspecific diversification occurred in the eastern part of Europe during the later Pleistocene (0.48–0.24 Ma). From there, the species expanded both eastwards and westwards, likely during a cold period, which is reflected by two main lineages within A. austriacus that today occur in the Pannonian sensu lato and in the Pontic/south-western Siberian regions, respectively. Demographic modelling supported such a scenario and showed that population sizes were larger during the last cold stage and contracted postglacially. Within the Pannonian sensu lato region, strong substructure was detected, likely as a result of repeated disintegration of the continuous cold-stage steppes in Europe. Finally, our results are in line with evolutionary scenarios suggested for other steppe species such as Adonis vernalis.
•Astragalus austriacus is a member of the highly diverse and derived Hypoglottis clade.•A. austriacus lineages of the main distribution area evolved in the later Pleistocene in the Pontic-Pannonian region.•A Pannonian and a Pontic/Siberian lineage of A. austriacus evolved independently.•Populations of A. austriacus declined after the end of the last glacial period.
Gagea bohemica
s.l. is a morphologically and karyologically highly variable group with many morphologically similar “narrow” taxa currently considered as a single variable species. It is ...predominantly distributed in Mediterranean and warmer parts of temperate belt of Europe. The large-scale data on its cytogeography and population cytotype structure which could provide a basis for taxonomy are lacking, only scattered data on ploidy have been published from various parts of its range. In this study, we sampled 106 populations in broader Central Europe, the northeastern Balkan Peninsula and the northwestern Black Sea coast in order to analyze their ploidy level, genome size and pollen stainability. Two cytotypes, i.e., tetraploid (2
n
= 48) and pentaploid (2
n
= 60), were found in the study area using chromosome counting and flow cytometry, both in pure and mixed-ploidy populations. Pure pentaploid populations are mainly distributed in Austria, Czechia, northwestern Hungary and Slovakia while tetraploid cytotype in pure and mixed-ploidy populations forming two lineages which are concentrated into two disjunct geographical areas: a western lineage in Germany and Switzerland and an eastern one in Bulgaria, southeastern Hungary, northern Greece, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine. The two lineages differ in their genome size regardless of their ploidy, indicating their independent origin. Analysis of pollen stainability using a modified Alexander stain revealed an unusual pattern with tetraploids having a lower pollen stainability (mean 44.29%) than pentaploids (mean 70.70%), but the western and eastern populations differed again from each other.
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