A late Pleistocene marine glacial refugium in the south-west of Hainan Island, China: Phylogeographical insights from the brown alga Sargassum polycystum

摘要

Aim: Hainan Island, southern China, is characterized by rich diversity and endemism of marine organisms, yet the underpinning mechanisms and processes contributing to speciation and diversification are poorly understood. Here, the brown alga Sargassum polycystum is used as a model to identify putative marine glacial refugia and explore biogeographical patterns driven by climate change in the late Pleistocene ice ages.