Biogeography, macroevolutionary patterns and population genetics in golden orbweaver spiders (Nephilidae)Turk, Eva (Avtor) Kralj Fišer, Simona (Mentor) Kuntner, Matjaž (Komentor) biogeographyspeciationextinctionpopulation geneticsNephilidaeGolden orbweavers (Nephilidae) are a conspicuous family of spiders, recognized for their extreme sexual size dimorphism, web gigantism and other curious features. In four chapters, we explore their historical biogeography, diversification dynamics and genetic and geographical structuring at the population level using a variety of statistical and molecular approaches. In the first chapter, we combine an original species phylogeny of golden orbweavers with data on extant species distribution and estimates of dispersal probabilities among geographical areas to reconstruct the geographical origin and subsequent dispersal routes of the clade. We develop and employ a novel method of dispersal probability attribution, adding precision to the analysis and increasing reconstruction credibility. We find support for an Indomalayan and/or Australasian geographical origin of nephilids. In the second chapter, we infer the dynamics of two main macroevolutionary processes, speciation and extinction, in the nephilid phylogeny and detect heterogeneity in both. We test two environmental and two organismal factors for correlation with diversification, but find none. In the third chapter, we further develop biogeographical reconstruction methodology on coin spiders (genus Herennia), whose dispersal biology is largely unknown. We test two models assuming different main dispersal methods, and find the ballooning dispersal model more parsimonious than the slow stochastic “walking” dispersal model. The analyses also reveal the wide distribution of H. multipuncta is not human-driven in origin, but natural. The fourth chapter compares population genetic and geographic structuring in two golden orbweaver species with markedly different life histories. Populations of both species show genetic structure, but no geographical structure, implying strong gene flow among them.20222022-02-17 07:15:09Doktorsko delo/naloga135004sl