Les impacts de la dispersion historique sur la variabilité génétique à différentes échelles spatiales : connaître l'histoire pour mieux comprendre le présent

Current genetic variability depends on a complex combination of historical and contemporary factors. Therefore, an unbiased interpretation of the impact of current processes requires a deep understanding of historical processes that shaped genetic variability. Based on the premise that spatially close populations should share a common recent history, many studies conducted at small spatial scale do not take into account the effect of historical processes. This thesis aims to verify the validity of this assumption by estimating the effect of historical dispersion at large and small spatial scales. The aim of the first part of this thesis was to evaluate the impact of the historical dispersion on the distribution of organisms, at large spatial scale. The freshwater mussels of the genus Floater (Pyganodon spp.) were used as biological model. The dispersal of freshwater mussels occurs when larvae parasitize fish. Also, a series of null models has been developed to evaluate the co-occurrence between parasites and their hosts. The distinct associations of the Newfoundland floater (P. fragilis) with euryhaline fish species can explain its distribution. These associations also promoted differentiation with its sister taxon: the Eastern floater (P. cataracta). This study demonstrated the effects of historical biological associations on the current distribution of species at a large spatial scale. The aim of the second part of this thesis was to evaluate the impact of historical dispersal on the genetic variability, at small spatial scale. This time populations of rock bass (Ambloplites rupestris) and sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus) in adjacent drainages were used as biological model. The striking differences observed between the two species suggest opposing colonization patterns. Rock bass have colonized the drainage from a downstream source, resulting in low genetic diversity upstream and a strong differentiation between drainages. However, the sunfish have colonized the system from upstream, resulting in a high genetic diversity and low differentiation upstream, inducing at the same time a false signal of gene flow between drainages. The present study shows that the historical dispersion may hinder the ability to estimate the actual connectivity at small spatial scale, thus invalidating the premise tested in this thesis. The impacts of historical processes on genetic variability are not easy to demonstrate. The aim of the third part of this thesis was to develop a method to facilitate their detection. The proposed method is very flexible and facilitates the comparison between genetic variability and multiple dispersal hypotheses. The method could be used to compare dispersal hypotheses based on the historic or the current landscape and allow the assessment of historical and contemporary processes on genetic variability. The performances of the method are presented in several simulation scenarios, of increasing complexity. Despite an overall impact of differentiation, the number of individuals or the number of loci sampled, the method is highly effective. To illustrate the potential of the method, two contrasted data sets from previously published studies, were re-analyzed. This thesis demonstrates the impacts of historical dispersal on genetic variability at different spatial scales. Potential historical effects must be taken into account before assessing the impacts of ecological processes on genetic variability. In short, we must bridge the gap between ecology and evolution.

Keyphrases: Patterns of colonization, historical dispersion, Landscape genetics, connectivity, biological associations, genetic network