Data from: Genetic diversity in frogs linked to past and future climate change on the roof of the world

Mountains, representing storehouses of biodiversity, endemism, and threatened species, are biodiversity hotspots of great conservation importance. However, increasing evidence indicates that mountain species throughout the world are responding to climate change, past or contemporary, by shifting their geographic distributions and patterns of genetic diversity, potentially affecting their adaptive capacity and increasing risk of extinction. Using the iconic high‐elevation frog Nanorana parkeri as indicator, we showed how spatial analyses of climatic stability combined with genetic data allow unravelling amphibian responses to past and future climate changes on ‘the roof of the world’—the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau. We found that areas along the Yarlung Tsangpo Valley were climatically more stable relative to other regions, apparently serving as a large climatic refugium during Quaternary glaciations, but that these areas will likely be affected by future climate change. As populations closer to Quaternary refugia usually had higher genetic diversity, current genetic diversity can be explained in the largest part by distance to historically stable areas, outweighing other historical and contemporary factors. Along with the dynamics of suitable range, a fluctuating habitat fragmentation supported the pattern of historical changes in genetic diversity (Ne) over time. Our results emphasize strong relationships between amphibian genetic diversity, past range dynamics, and where to preserve suitable habitats in the face of future climate changes. More generally, our findings highlighted a central role of refugia during Quaternary climatic fluctuations, and how isolation from refugia may have modulated amphibian genetic diversity across the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau.

山地作为生物多样性、特有物种与受胁物种的贮藏库，是具有极高保护价值的生物多样性热点区域。然而，越来越多的证据表明，全球山地物种正响应古今气候变化，通过改变地理分布范围与遗传多样性模式，进而可能削弱其适应能力并提升灭绝风险。本研究以标志性高海拔蛙类高山倭蛙（Nanorana parkeri）作为指示物种，以“世界屋脊”——青藏高原为研究区域，通过结合气候稳定性空间分析与遗传数据，阐明了两栖类对古今气候变化的响应机制。研究发现，相较于其他区域，雅鲁藏布江谷地（Yarlung Tsangpo Valley）的气候更为稳定，在第四纪冰期（Quaternary glaciations）中充当了大型气候避难所，但该区域未来仍可能受到气候变化的影响。由于距离第四纪避难所越近的种群通常具有更高的遗传多样性，当前的遗传多样性在最大程度上可由距历史气候稳定区域的距离来解释，其影响力超过其他古今因素。适宜分布范围的动态变化与波动的生境破碎化，共同支撑了遗传多样性（Ne）随时间推移的历史变化模式。本研究结果揭示了两栖类遗传多样性、历史分布范围动态与未来气候变化下适宜生境保护点位之间的紧密关联。从更广泛的层面来看，本研究结果凸显了第四纪气候波动中避难所的核心作用，以及远离避难所的隔离效应如何调控了青藏高原两栖类的遗传多样性格局。