Climatic niche pre-adaptation in mainland Europe facilitated the colonization of Madeira by ivies (Hedera L., Araliaceae)

Background and aimsThe way plants cope with biotic and abiotic selective pressures determines their success in the colonization of remote oceanic islands, which ultimately depends on the phylogenetic constrains and ecological response of the lineage. In this study we aim to evaluate the relative role of geographical and ecological forces in the origin and evolution of the Madeiran ivy (H. maderensis). MethodsTo determine the phylogenetic placement of H. maderensis within the western polyploid clade of Hedera (three species), we analysed 40 populations (92 individuals) using genotyping-by-sequencing and including H. helix as outgroup. Climatic niche differences among the four study species were evaluated using a database with 706 records representing the entire species ranges. To test species responses to climate, a set of 19 vegetative and regenerative functional traits were examined for 70 populations (335 individuals). Key resultsPhylogenomic results revealed a nested pattern with H. maderensis embedded within H. iberica. Gradual niche differentiation from the coldest and most continental populations of H. iberica to the warm and stable coastal population sister to H. maderensis parallels the geographical pattern observed in the phylogeny. Similarity in adaptive traits is observed for H. maderensis and H. iberica. The two species show leaves with higher SLA, lower LDMC and thickness and smaller fruits than those of H. hibernica. ConclusionsAcquisition of the Macaronesian climatic niche and the associated functional syndrome in mainland European ivies (small fruits, leaves high SLA, and low LDMD and thickness) was a key step in the colonization of Madeira by the H. iberica/H. maderensis lineage, which points to climatic pre-adaptation as a driver of island colonization (dispersal and establishment). Once in Madeira, speciation was driven by geographical isolation, while ecological processes are regarded as secondary forces with a putative impact in the lack of further in situ diversification.