Phylogeography of the pallid ground squirrel (Spermophilus pallidicauda; Satunin, 1903) as a consequence of Holocene changes in the Mongolian steppe ecosystems

Abstract

The influence of Quaternary climatic changes is a source of intraspecific genetic heterogeneity of faunal components of Asian steppe and semi-desert ecosystems. The pallid ground squirrel Spermophilus pallidicauda is a typical representative of Inner Asian Marmotini, the intraspecific structure of which remained unstudied to date. We studied for the first time the genetic structure of the pallid ground squirrel based on cytochrome b and control region of mitochondrial DNA variability. We generated ecological niche models to estimate the current and past habitat suitability for S. pallidicauda. Our results revealed two phyletic lineages dividing this species into western and eastern population groups. According to our proposed reconstruction of the history of S. pallidicauda distribution, the divergence of the detected phyla may have resulted from the formation of the ecological barrier that separated the western and eastern parts of the range in the early Holocene. The hypothesis of the origin and life history of S. pallidicauda is given.