TY - JOUR
T1 - Insular endemism in the Mediterranean vascular flora: the case of the Aeolian Islands (Sicily, Italy)
AU - Troia, Angelo
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - The present paper briefly provides the state of the art of the knowledge on vascular plant endemism in the oceanic (“thalassogenous”) Aeolian Archipelago (Sicily). Preliminary analysis of distribution areas and review of recent literature on biosystematics of endemicspecies revealed that: (a) Aeolian strictly endemic taxa are just 6, i.e. about the 0.7 % of the local vascular flora; among them, just 4 can be considered (with doubt) derived fromin situ evolution. (b) The other 18 endemics are taxa occurring in wider areas, so they cannot be generally considered “locally evolved” but relicts. This preliminary analysis confirms that not only continental (“chersogenous”) but all Mediterranean islands are primarily conservative rather than evolutionary active systems.
AB - The present paper briefly provides the state of the art of the knowledge on vascular plant endemism in the oceanic (“thalassogenous”) Aeolian Archipelago (Sicily). Preliminary analysis of distribution areas and review of recent literature on biosystematics of endemicspecies revealed that: (a) Aeolian strictly endemic taxa are just 6, i.e. about the 0.7 % of the local vascular flora; among them, just 4 can be considered (with doubt) derived fromin situ evolution. (b) The other 18 endemics are taxa occurring in wider areas, so they cannot be generally considered “locally evolved” but relicts. This preliminary analysis confirms that not only continental (“chersogenous”) but all Mediterranean islands are primarily conservative rather than evolutionary active systems.
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10447/74722
UR - http://www.biodiversityjournal.com/pdf/3(4)_369-374.pdf
M3 - Article
VL - 3
SP - 369
EP - 374
JO - BIODIVERSITY JOURNAL
JF - BIODIVERSITY JOURNAL
SN - 2039-0394
ER -