Format: ORAL

Wen-Hao Li1, Zheng-Zhang Zhu1, Yun-Peng Zhao1,*

1 Systematic & Evolutionary Botany and Biodiversity Group, MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystem Homeostasis and Protection, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

Relict species form an essential component of contemporary biodiversity as representatives of a patrimony nested in the Tree of Life. Rarity and restricted distributions obviously place relict species in special demographic jeopardy of extinction, especially in the face of ongoing climatic changes and other ecological perturbations[1]. East Asia harbors hundreds of relict species, as several long-term climatically stable refugia provided chances of species-level persistence[2]. However, climatic-derived genetic diversity loss of relict species in the coming decades has few reported. In this study, we evaluated the population-level climatic vulnerability of 10 relict taxa by genetic-environment associated loci data, considering local adaptation by heterogenous habitats. We aimed to (1) identify the most fragile areas with highest genomic vulnerability, highlighting prior local populations for conservation; (2) assess effects of rescue via migration with or without distance limitation; (3) reveal the traits/genetic basis that enable populations overcome the adaptive challenges. Our work quantified the maladaptation and migration to understanding the extinct risks of relict plants, further help target future conservation actions.   [1]. Habel, J. C., Assmann, T., Schmitt, T., & Avise, J. C. (2010). Relict species: from past to future. In Relict species: phylogeography and conservation biology (pp. 1-5). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. [2]. Tang, C. Q., Matsui, T., Ohashi, H., Dong, Y. F., Momohara, A., Herrando-Moraira, S., ... & López-Pujol, J. (2018). Identifying long-term stable refugia for relict plant species in East Asia. Nature Communications, 9(1), 4488.