Molecular phylogeographic analyses of the loach Oxynoemacheilus bureschi reveal post-glacial range extensions across the Balkans

0340643 - ÚŽFG 2010 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Šedivá, Alena - Apostolou, A. - Kohout, Jan - Bohlen, Jörg
Molecular phylogeographic analyses of the loach Oxynoemacheilus bureschi reveal post-glacial range extensions across the Balkans.
Journal of Fish Biology. Roč. 76, č. 2 (2010), s. 357-368. ISSN 0022-1112. E-ISSN 1095-8649
R&D Projects: GA AV ČR(CZ) KJB600450601; GA ČR GA206/08/0637; GA ČR GA206/05/2556
Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50450515
Keywords : Biogeography * Freshwater fish * Introduction
Subject RIV: EG - Zoology
Impact factor: 1.330, year: 2010

Rivers on the Balkan Peninsula can be separated into ichthyofaunistic areas with different endemic fish species. The Vardar River contains a particularly large number of endemics, indicating its complete and long-term isolation from neighbouring river systems. One of the few species shared with other rivers is the loach species Oxynoemacheilus bureschi. In this study, the genetic analyses of 175 individuals of O. bureschi from 17 sites, covering the entire distribution of the species, including the Rivers Vardar (= Axios), Struma (= Strymon), Mesta (= Nestos) and Danube, were performed using one mitochondrial and one nuclear marker. Genetic differentiation among populations was in general low. Shared haplotypes were common and occurred even between distant localities and different river systems. This points to a high degree of gene flow among populations and rejects the hypothesis that the population in the Vardar River represents a relict from an early colonization of the Balkan Peninsula.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0183847