Genetic diversity in widespread species is not congruent with species richness in alpine plant communities.

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) aims at the conservation of all three levels of biodiversity, that is, ecosystems, species and genes. Genetic diversity represents evolutionary potential and is important for ecosystem functioning. Unfortunately, genetic diversity in natural populations is hardly considered in conservation strategies because it is difficult to measure and has been hypothesised to co-vary with species richness. This means that species richness is taken as a surrogate of genetic diversity in conservation planning, though their relationship has not been properly evaluated. We tested whether the genetic and species levels of biodiversity co-vary, using a large-scale and multi-species approach. We chose the high-mountain flora of the Alps and the Carpathians as study systems and demonstrate that species richness and genetic diversity are not correlated. Species richness thus cannot act as a surrogate for genetic diversity. Our results have important consequences for implementing the CBD when designing conservation strategies.

Complex biogeographic patterns in Androsace (Primulaceae) and related genera: evidence from phylogenetic analyses of nuclear internal transcribed spacer and plastid trnL-F sequences.

We conducted phylogenetic analyses of Androsace and the closely related genera Douglasia, Pomatosace, and Vitaliana using DNA sequences of the nuclear internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and the plastid trnL-F region. Analyses using maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference yield congruent relationships among several major lineages found. These lineages largely disagree with previously recognized taxonomic groups. Most notably, (1) Androsace sect. Andraspis, comprising the short-lived taxa, is highly polyphyletic; (2) Pomatosace constitutes a separate phylogenetic lineage within Androsace; and (3) Douglasia and Vitaliana nest within Androsace sect. Aretia. Our results suggest multiple origins of the short-lived lifeform and a possible reversal from annual or biennial to perennial habit at the base of a group that now contains mostly perennial high mountain or arctic taxa. The group containing Androsace sect. Aretia, Douglasia, and Vitaliana includes predominantly high alpine and arctic taxa with an arctic-alpine distribution, but is not found in the European and northeastern American Arctic or in Central and East Asia. This group probably originated in Europe in the Pliocene, from where it reached the amphi-Beringian region in the Pleistocene or late Pliocene.