This specific complex is referred to as the Atlantic Forest Domain (AFD) ( Joly et al., 1999) and includes open, mixed and closed evergreen forest and semi-deciduous and deciduous forests. Complex factors including strong seasonality, sharp environmental gradients and orographically driven rainfall (resulting from easterly tropical Atlantic winds) result in a diverse landscape in this ecoregion ( Joly et al., 1999 Martins, 2011). The Atlantic forest is the second largest tropical forest in South America, covering an area of <1 000 000 km 2 along the Brazilian coast and extending to eastern Paraguay and northeastern Argentina ( Joly et al., 1999 Oliveira-Filho & Fontes, 2000 Ribeiro et al., 2009). Further investigations of historical phylogeography on each specific biome and ecoregion in South America are fundamental in the assessment of how species have responded to past climatic and environmental changes and to predict how they might cope with current and future changes. However, the impact of past climatic changes on many Neotropical species has yet to be explored. In South America, recent studies have combined ecological niche modelling (ENM) and phylogeographic approaches, highlighting various patterns of diversification and demographic histories in different taxa ( Carnaval & Moritz, 2008 Carnaval et al., 2009, 2014 Martins, 2011 Collevatti et al., 2012 Valdez & D’Elía, 2013). Studies combining ecological and phylogenetic/phylogeographic analysis have provided information regarding the origin and evolutionary history of species ( Wiens & Donoghue, 2004 Ricklefs, 2010) and improved our understanding of the processes structuring genetic variation across landscapes ( Knowles, 2009 Chan, Brown & Yoder, 2011 Collevatti et al., 2013 Alvarado-Serrano & Knowles, 2014 Diniz-filho et al., 2014 Thode et al., 2014). In this context, molecular phylogeographic approaches facilitate an increased understanding of the role that historical events play in the geographical patterns of genetic variability within and among species ( Knowles & Maddison, 2002 Avise, 2009). Investigating the evolutionary history of species can lead to an increased understanding of the interactions between past climatic events and the evolutionary processes that contributed to current patterns of diversity ( Hewitt, 2000 Duminil et al., 2010).

The results suggest distinct evolutionary histories in southern to northern populations, indicating region-specific responses to changes.Ĭhloroplast DNA, geographical variation, pitanga, population structure, South America Introduction uniflora was fragmented in cool periods and was broader and more connected during warm periods during Pleistocene. ENM results indicate that the distribution of E. The populations in the northern and central regions of the range probably experienced population growth, whereas populations in the southern region are marked by historical demographic stability.

Two divergent lineages were revealed in the phylogenetic analysis of haplotypes, with an estimated divergence at c. Eugenia uniflora exhibited higher haplotype and nucleotide diversity in the southern part of its distribution than in the northern part. ENM was also performed to predict suitable environments and areas of dramatic decrease in future suitability for the species under distinct representative concentration pathways (RCPs).

uniflora from 46 localities in natural environments across the distribution range of the species based on three plastid markers. An analysis of phylogeographic population structure and demography was conducted on E. In this study, we evaluate phylogeographic patterns and predictions of ecological niche modelling (ENM) for Eugenia uniflora (Myrtaceae), a widely distributed taxon in the Atlantic forest domain, to understand the effect of past climatic oscillations on the demographic history of this species.

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