Format: ORAL

Ana Valds-Florido1, Enrique Maguilla2, Juan Arroyo1, Marcial Escudero1

1 University of Seville, Seville, Spain 2 Pablo de Olavide University, Seville, Spain

The genus Carex L. (Cyperaceae), with about 2,000 species, is one of the most diversified genera among angiosperms. Previous studies, based on morphological and molecular data (plastid DNA regions and RADseq) from 10 populations across the Iberian Peninsula, recognised two different species within C. furva complex: C. furva and C. lucennoiberica. Carex lucennoiberica is a species endemic to high siliceous mountains in the Iberian Peninsula. In contrast, C. furva is only distributed in Sierra Nevada, a high Mediterranean mountain in Southern Spain. Both species only co-occur in Sierra Nevada, which is an excellent area to study genetic divergence and local adaptation in the presence of hybridization. Here, we aim to (i) verify the split of both species by means of phylogenomic analyses performed by RADseq markers and using morphological characters measurements, (ii) study the niche evolution of both species, with special focus in Sierra Nevada using dataloggers (Ibutton) to record temperature data across their distribution in Sierra Nevada and (iii) correlate fine scale RADseq loci of this group with temperature records and microclimate layers. Morphological and molecular data suggests two main groups in Sierra Nevada, corresponding to C. furva and C. lucennoiberica, but also intermediate individuals are found, evidencing gene flow between species. Our results allow us to conclude that there are not significant climatic niche differences between C. furva and C. lucennoiberica populations but there are some other microhabitat differences. Finally, our preliminary landscape genomic results suggest that there is evidence of local adaptation in this group.