ISSN 1022-7954, Russian Journal of Genetics, 2006, Vol. 42, No. 10, pp. 1101–1115. © Pleiades Publishing, Inc., 2006. Original Russian Text © A.A. Makhrov, I.N. Bolotov, 2006, published in Genetika, 2006, Vol. 42, No. 10, pp. 1319–1334. THEORETICAL PAPERS AND REVIEWS Dispersal Routes and Species Identification of Freshwater Animals in Northern Europe: A Review of Molecular Evidence A. A. Makhrova and I. N. Bolotovb a Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119991 Russia e-mail:
[email protected] b Institute of Ecological Problems of the North, Russian Academy of Sciences, Arkhangelsk, 163000 Russia Received April 18, 2006 Abstract—According to genetic data, North European freshwater areas were colonized from refugia along the eastern Atlantic coast, in southern and eastern basins of Baltic Sea, in Siberia, North America, and areas of the Caspian and Black seas. Probably, a refugium also existed in Southern Norway. Colonization from the sea also took place. The taxonomic position of some forms, such as members of the complex groups of Arctic chars and coregonids, was refined in the course of combined studies including morphological analysis and molecular markers. DOI: 10.1134/S1022795406100036 Genogeography was founded more than 70 years and practical problems could not be solved by conven- ago [1, 2]. Since then, not only molecular markers have tional methods. appeared, but also theoretical concepts of population In this study, we consciously avoided consideration genetics have been developed. It became obvious that of paleogeographical reconstructions, because these are the processes of speciation may differ dramatically controversial, ranging from complete absence of conti- from processes occurring in populations [3].