@misc{10481/67717,
year = {2021},
month = {2},
url = {http://hdl.handle.net/10481/67717},
abstract = {Ants are highly diverse in the Iberian Peninsula (IP), both in species richness (299 cited
species) and in number of endemic species (72). The Iberian ant fauna is one of the richest in the
broader Mediterranean region, it is similar to the Balkan Peninsula but lower than Greece or Israel,
when species richness is controlled by the surface area. In this first general study on the biogeography
of Iberian ants, we propose seven chorological categories for grouping thems. Moreover, we also
propose eight biogeographic refugium areas, based on the criteria of “refugia-within-refugium”
in the IP. We analysed species richness, occurrence and endemism in all these refugium areas,
which we found to be significantly different as far as ant similarity was concerned. Finally, we
collected published evidence of biological traits, molecular phylogenies, fossil deposits and geological
processes to be able to infer the most probable centre of origin and dispersal routes followed for
the most noteworthy ants in the IP. As a result, we have divided the Iberian myrmecofauna into
four biogeographical groups: relict, Asian-IP disjunct, Baetic-Rifan and Alpine. To sum up, our
results support biogeography as being a significant factor for determining the current structure of
ant communities, especially in the very complex and heterogenous IP. Moreover, the taxonomic
diversity and distribution patterns we describe in this study highlight the utility of Iberian ants for
understanding the complex evolutionary history and biogeography of the Iberian Peninsula.},
organization = {Spanish Government
	
RTA2015-00012-C02-02},
organization = {Instituto de Investigacion Agropecuaria (INIA)},
organization = {European Commission},
publisher = {MDPI},
keywords = {Species richness},
keywords = {Species occurrence},
keywords = {Endemic species},
keywords = {Distribution ranges},
keywords = {Dispersal routes},
keywords = {Centre of origin},
keywords = {Refugium areas},
title = {Biogeography of Iberian Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)},
doi = {10.3390/d13020088},
author = {Tinaut Ranera, Alberto and Ruano Díaz, Francisca Del Carmen},
}