Quaternary climate change has been strongly linked to distributional shifts and recent species diversification. Montane species, in particular, have experienced enhanced isolation and rapid genetic divergence during glacial fluctuations, and these processes have resulted in a disproportionate number of neo‐endemic species forming in high‐elevation habitats. In temperate montane environments, a general model of alpine population history is well supported, where cold‐specialized species track favourable climate conditions downslope during glacial episodes and upslope during warmer interglacial periods, which leads to a climate‐driven population or species diversification pump. However, it remains unclear how geography mediates distributional changes and whether certain episodes of glacial history have differentially impacted rates of diversification. We address these questions by examining phylogenomic data in a North American clade of flightless, cold‐specialized insects, the ice crawlers (Insecta: Grylloblattodea: Grylloblattidae:
Montane species endemic to the “sky islands” of the North American southwest were significantly impacted by changing climates during the Pleistocene. We combined mitochondrial and genomic data with species distribution modelling to determine whether
- Award ID(s):
- 1754030
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10452369
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Molecular Ecology
- Volume:
- 29
- Issue:
- 19
- ISSN:
- 0962-1083
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 3684-3701
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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