Ecological Implications of Cousinia Cass.(Asteraceae) Persistence Through the Last Two Glacial–Interglacial Cycles in the Continental Middle East for the Irano-Turanian Flora
Ecological implications of Cousinia Cass. (Asteraceae) persistence through the last two glacial–interglacial cycles in the continental Middle East for the Irano- Turanian flora Morteza Djamali a,c*, Alex Baumel a, Simon Brewer b, Stephen T. Jackson b,c, Joachim W. Kadereit d, Sara López-Vinyallonga e, Iraj Mehregan f, Esmaeil Shabanian g, Aleksandra Simakova a Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d'Ecologie (IMBE UMR CNRS 7263), Europôle Méditerranéen de l'Arbois, Bâtiment Villemin BP80, 13545 Aix-en-Provence, Cedex 04, France b Department of Botany 3165, 1000 E. University Ave., University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA c Program in Ecology, Berry Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA d Institut für Spezielle Botanik und Botanischer Garten, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, D-55099 Mainz, Germany e Botanic Institute of Barcelona (IBB-CSIC-ICUB), Pg. del Migdias. n., 08038 Barcelona, Spain f Department of Biology, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran g CEREGE–UMR CNRS, Université Aix-Marseille, IRD, Collège de France, Europôle Méditerranéen de l'Arbois, BP 80, 13545 Aix-en-Provence, Cedex 04, France h Geological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pyzevskii 7, Moscow, 119017 Russia Abstract This study explores the response of the Irano-Turanian flora to Quaternary glacial– interglacial cycles in SW Asia. We use new fossil pollen data to assess variation in abundance of Cousinia Cass. (Compositae), a large genus typical for the Irano- Turanian flora, during these cycles. The results are compared with modern topography, tectonic and palaeoclimatic history, and recent phylogenetic data to explain the extremely high speciation rate and level of endemism as well as the modern geographical distribution of the genus.
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