Lineage diversification and niche evolution in the Reeves’ Butterfly Lizard Leiolepis reevesii (Agamidae)

We used mitochondrial cytochrome b and ND4 genes and 9 microsatellite loci to determine genetic diversity, population structure, evolutionary history, and migration patterns within the Reeves’ butterfly lizard Leiolepis reevesii (Agamidae). Considering molecular-based phylogeographical lineages, we then performed niche equivalency and similarity tests between divergent lineages. Phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) data revealed 2 lineages (A and B) diverging ≈0.84 million years ago and, respectively, restricted to the northern and southern portions of the Wuzhishan and Yinggeling mountain ranges. Lineage B contains individuals from southern Hainan; Lineage A includes individuals from all other localities and can be further divided into 3 clusters according to microsatellite data. The null hypothesis that the 2 lineages shared identical niches was rejected in all niche equivalency tests, indicating niche shifts during genetic divergence. Similarity tests provided evidence of niche conservatism, suggesting that the 2 lineages share more characteristics of their niche spaces than randomly expected. The niche similarity and equivalency tests indicated a complex niche pattern in which both lineages share a main portion of their ecological spaces. The climatic niche of Lineage B represented a marginal and specialized fraction of the entire ecological space of the climatic niche of Lineage A, with warmer conditions. Isolation caused by orogenesis and subsequent niche divergence, together with local adaptation, may have led to genetic differentiation and further lineage sorting in L. reevesii.