Island speciation within the…

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Project title:

Island speciation within the landsnail genus Theba on the Canary Islands

ZFMK Project lead:

Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof

Unit:

Centre for Molecular Biodiversity Research (zmb), Chair Molecular Biodiversity Research, Mammalogy

Object of research:

Snails and Slugs

Description

Landsnails of the genus Theba show an endemic radiation on the Canary Islands and the adjacent West African Continent. The canary Islands are characterized by a tremendous variability of habitats from subtropical vegetation on the western most islands to desert vegetation on the two most eastern islands, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. We found new endemic species on almost all of these islands and show that on most islands allopatric islands speciation is most likely the driving force of speciation. On the Jandía peninsula genome scans suggested genotype-environment associations and potentially adaptive diversification of two closely related Theba species to different ecological environments. Our studies combine morphometrics and molecular analyses of speciation and species differences. This work is conducted in cooperation with Carola Greve, zmb, Dr. Rainer Hutterer, ZFMK and Dr. Martin Haase, University of Greifswald.