TY - JOUR A1 - Velo-Antón, Guillermo A1 - Boratyński, Zbyszek A1 - Ferreira, Clara Mendes A1 - Lima, Vanessa O. A1 - Alves, Paulo C. A1 - Brito, José C. T1 - Intraspecific genetic diversity and distribution of North African hedgehogs (Mammalia: Erinaceidae) JF - Biological journal of the Linnean Society : a journal of evolution N2 - Despite growing efforts to halt biodiversity loss, knowledge of species diversity and distribution is highly geographically biased, leaving some areas unexplored. Taxa distributed in remote, desert areas, such as hedgehogs (Mammalia; Eulipotyphla) in North Africa, are good examples of current knowledge gaps in systematics and biogeography. Here we studied the geographical distribution and intraspecific genetic diversity of hedgehogs in North Africa. Specimens belonging to North African and Eurasian species were analysed with mitochondrial (control region, CR) and nuclear (recombination activating gene 1, RAG1) gene fragments. This revealed a broader geographical distribution of Atelerix algirus in south-western Libya and of Paraechinus aethiopicus along the Atlantic Sahara. High intraspecific genetic differentiation was found in A. algirus and A. albiventris at the mitochondrial level, with nuclear haplotype sharing across their ranges. These findings suggest that biogeographical patterns of hedgehogs in North Africa are more complex than previously suggested, highlighting a need for further investigation in this remote and poorly known area. KW - Atelerix albiventris KW - Atelerix algirus KW - conservation genetics KW - cryptic diversity KW - distribution KW - Paraechinus aethiopicus KW - Phylogeny KW - Sahara-Sahel Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blz030 SN - 0024-4066 SN - 1095-8312 VL - 127 IS - 1 SP - 156 EP - 163 PB - Oxford University Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Martin, Craig E. A1 - Herppich, Werner B. A1 - Roscher, Yvonne A1 - Burkart, Michael T1 - Relationships between leaf succulence and Crassulacean acid metabolism in the genus Sansevieria (Asparagaceae) JF - Flora : morphology, distribution, functional ecology of plants N2 - Relationships between different measures of succulence and Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM; defined here as nocturnal increases in tissue acidity) were investigated in leaves of ten species of Sansevieria under greenhouse conditions. CAM was found in seven of the ten species investigated, and CAM correlated negatively with leaf thickness and leaf hydrenchyma/chlorenchyma ratio. Similarly, CAM correlated negatively with leaf water content, but only when expressed on a fresh mass basis. CAM was not correlated with "mesophyll succulence", but weakly with leaf chlorophyll concentration. These results indicate that CAM is associated more with "all-cell succulence" and not with the amount of leaf hydrenchyma in the genus Sansevieria. The findings of this study emphasize the importance of defining the nature of "leaf succulence" in studies of photosynthetic pathways and leaf morphology. Evidence is also provided that CAM and succulence arose multiple times in the genus Sansevieria. KW - Anatomy KW - CAM KW - Chlorenchyma KW - Chlorophyll KW - Hydrenchyma KW - Morphology KW - Phylogeny Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.flora.2019.151489 SN - 0367-2530 SN - 1618-0585 VL - 261 PB - Elsevier CY - München ER -