| Abstrakt: |
Abstract: Phylogeographical analyses of alpine species in temperate Europe, distributed in island-like habitats in high-mountain ranges, generally focus on widely distributed species at wide geographical scales. However, genetic diversity and population differentiation in the alpine zone is strongly associated not only with patterns in large-scale isolation, but also local topographic structure of habitats. Regionally endemic species offer the possibility of a realistic overview of genetic diversity in relation to local scale history without the effect of unrecognized external gene flow. Here, we focus on Cochlearia tatrae, a narrow endemic species occurring only within an isolated high-mountain area in the Tatra Mts. Based on population sampling across its entire range, AFLP genotyping and DNA sequencing (non-coding plastid DNA and nrITS) this species' genetic structure was assessed in the spatial context of its distribution and discussed in terms of its Late Pleistocene history. |
