Data from: New insights on postglacial colonisation in Western Europe: the phylogeography of the Leisler's bat (Nyctalus leisleri)

Despite recent advances in the understanding of the interplay between a dynamic physical environment and phylogeography in Europe, the origins of contemporary Irish biota remain uncertain. Current thinking is that Ireland was colonized post-glacially from southern European refugia, following the end of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), some 20,000 YBP. The Leisler's bat (Nyctalus leisleri), one of the few native Irish mammal species, is widely distributed throughout Europe but, with the exception of Ireland is generally rare and considered vulnerable. We investigate the origins and phylogeographic relationships of Irish populations in relation to those across Europe, including the closely related species N. azoreum, using a combination of approaches including mitochondrial and nuclear DNA markers in addition to approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) and palaeo-climatic species distribution modeling. Molecular analysis revealed two distinct and diverse European mtDNA lineages, which likely diverged in separate glacial refugia. A western lineage, restricted to Ireland, Britain and the Azores, is comprised of Irish and British N. leisleri and N. azoreum specimens. An eastern lineage is distributed throughout mainland Europe. Palaeo-climatic projections indicate suitable habitats during the LGM, including known glacial refugia, in addition to potential novel cryptic refugia along the western fringe of Europe, results which may be applicable to populations of many species.尽管目前学界对欧洲动态物理环境与系统发生生物地理学（phylogeography）之间的相互作用已有显著研究进展，但当代爱尔兰生物群的起源仍未明确。当前主流观点认为，在末次盛冰期（Last Glacial Maximum, LGM）结束约2万年前（years before present, YBP），爱尔兰于冰川期后从南欧避难所完成种群殖民。莱氏夜蝠（Leisler's bat，学名Nyctalus leisleri）是爱尔兰少数本土哺乳动物物种之一，其在欧洲全境分布广泛，但除爱尔兰外，该物种种群普遍较为稀少，被列为易危物种。本研究结合线粒体DNA（mitochondrial DNA, mtDNA）与核DNA标记、近似贝叶斯计算（approximate Bayesian computation, ABC）以及古气候物种分布模型等多种分析方法，探讨爱尔兰种群与欧洲其他地区种群（包括近缘物种亚速尔夜蝠N. azoreum）的起源及系统发生生物地理学关系。分子分析结果显示，欧洲存在两个截然不同且多样性丰富的线粒体DNA谱系，它们很可能在各自独立的冰川避难所中发生分化。其中一个西部谱系仅分布于爱尔兰、英国及亚速尔群岛，由爱尔兰和英国的莱氏夜蝠标本以及亚速尔夜蝠标本组成；另一个东部谱系则遍布欧洲大陆。古气候预测结果表明，在末次盛冰期时期，欧洲不仅存在已知的冰川避难所，还在欧洲西部沿岸存在潜在的新型隐蔽避难所，这一研究结论或许可推广应用于诸多物种的种群研究。