Chapter 1. The family Pteronarcyidae (Plecoptera) is a highly studied group of stoneflies and very important to a wide variety of aquatic studies. Several phylogenies have been proposed for this group recent decades, however there is little congruence between the various topologies. The present study revises the phylogeny of the group by combining molecular data from mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit II, ribosomal subunit 12S, ribosomal subunit 16S, and nuclear loci ribosomal subinit 18S and Histone H3, with published morphological data in a parsimony-based total evidence analysis. The analysis produced a well-supported phylogeny with novel relationships within the genus Pteronarcys. Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian analyses produced topologies congruent with parsimony analysis. Character mapping revealed several homoplasious morphological characters that were previously thought to be homologous. Chapter 2. Phylogeographic studies in aquatic insects provide valuable insights into mechanisms that shape the genetic structure of aquatic communities. Yet studies that include broad geographic areas are uncommon for this group. We conducted a broad scale phylogeographic analysis of P. badia across western North America. In order to allow us to generate a larger mitochondrial data set, we used 454 seqeuncing to reconstruct the complete mitochondrial genome in the early stages of the project. Our analysis reveals what appears to be a complex history of isolation and multiple invasions among some lineages. The study provides evidence of multiple glacial refugia and suggests that historical climactic isolations have been important mechanisms in determining genetic structure of insects in western North America. Our ability to generate a large mitochondrial data set through mitochondrial genome reconstruction greatly improved nodal support of our mitochondrial gene tree, and allowed us to make stronger inference of relationships between lineages and timing of divergence events.

Excavations at Natural Trap Cave (NTC) began in the mid-1970's and quickly yielded evidence of a diverse steppe fauna that existed during the Last Glacial Maximum (MIS 2) along the western slope of the Bighorn Mountains in north central Wyoming. NTC is a karst pit cave with a 24.5 m vertical drop into a roughly 43 m wide bell-shaped ‘Main Chamber’ and during the course of early excavations a plugged entrance to a fossil-bearing ‘Lower Chamber’ was discovered. Stratigraphic relationships below the entrance to the Main Chamber of the cave were originally studied in the mid-1970's, but were never formally published. Although stratigraphy, taphonomy, and depositional circumstances were briefly discussed over the following years, little has been done to correlate the numerous stratigraphic schemes used by various authors. In this study, four stratigraphic sections were measured and analyzed to establish an easily modifiable lithostratigraphic system of nomenclature. We provide the first correlations of all stratigraphic nomenclature used throughout excavations at NTC to facilitate comparisons with current and previous collections and publications. By leveraging more than 100 radioisotopic dates we developed an age-depth model and chronostratigraphic framework to further interrogate spatiotemporal relationships between strata, paleoenvironmental proxies, and fossil assemblages. Deposition is shown to be discontinuous; sediment accumulation in the study area is restricted to the buildup through peak penultimate and Last Glacial maxima. More recent (<10 ka) Holocene deposits unconformably cover the eroded surface of underlying Pleistocene strata. There is active reworking of sediments with transport and deposition of reactivated material within the Lower Chamber. We note that the two hiatuses coincide with interglacial periods and may reflect changing depositional circumstances within the cave such as extended periods of non-deposition, erosion, or bypass (possibly leading to deposition in the Lower Chamber). Contrary to previous reports, we demonstrate that it is unlikely a prominent snow cone existed or contributed to the pattern of sediment and fossil distribution within the study area, furthermore, we do not observe a continuous Pleistocene-Holocene transition in the study area. Further stratigraphic work will be needed to better understand the interrelationship between Main and Lower chamber deposits and the evolution of sediment accumulation in NTC.

This thesis develops a better knowledge of the extent and timing of glaciations in southern Argentina throughout the Quaternary. It provides a detailed understanding of successive major glacial outlet lobes in the Lago Pueyrredón valley. The glacial and glaciofluvial deposits in the valley, as elsewhere in the region, are extremely well-preserved and reflect punctuated glacial advances between ~ 1.1 Ma and ~ 17 ka. Several intermediate glaciations are undated, constrained by the limited time frame of radiocarbon age dating, the limited potential volcanic sites for K-Ar or 40Ar/39Ar age dating, and erosion and exhumation problems associated with cosmogenic-nuclide surface exposure ages on moraines. This thesis provides a new chronology for the mid-Quaternary glaciations based on methodological advances in cosmogenic-nuclide surface exposure age dating. This is done by deriving ages from glacial outwash terrace sediment and demonstrating their reliability. The work shows that for younger (i.e., last glacial) moraines, well-constrained ages can be derived from the common-practice of dating large boulders on the moraine surface. However, on older moraines, the ages so-derived become considerably scattered. This is interpreted to be caused primarily by boulder exhumation as a consequence of moraine erosion, resulting in shorter residence of some boulders at the surface relative to the moraine formation date. By contrast, glacial outwash surfaces in this area, if carefully chosen, can be shown to have undergone little aggradation or erosion, and thus have had long and consistent surface exposure since formation. Provided these surfaces can be stratigraphically linked with the glacial limits, they can provide good surface exposure ages. This has been convincingly confirmed in one location by a sequence of ages obtained from a 10Be concentration depth-profile which demonstrate the surface stability and lack of inherited nuclides. Using these methods, cosmogenic 10Be and 26Al surface exposure ages indicate successive major advances occurred at ~ 1.2 Ma, ~ 600 ka, ~ 260 ka and ~27 – 17.5 ka. These are correlated with global marine and ice core records.

<b>Cardamine hirsuta</b> L. is an emerging model system in developmental genetics, where natural genetic variation within <b>C. hirsuta</b> provides the means to investigate the genetic basis of morphological traits. This thesis investigates the geographical structure and genealogical history of genetic variation within <b>C. hirsuta</b> and identifies its closest relatives. This will enable the accurate selection of species for comparison with <b>C. hirsuta</b> when making interpretations of evolutionary processes, and provide a better understanding of morphological character evolution in <b>C. hirsuta</b>. The phylogeographic history of <b>C. hirsuta</b> was reconstructed using multiple chloroplast and nuclear markers and widespread accession sampling from across its native range. A distinct group was identified within <b>C. hirsuta</b>, restricted to the high mountains of East Africa. Climate suitability modelling showed that Pleistocene glacial dynamics have had a strong effect on the distribution of genetic variation within <b>C. hirsuta</b>. The phylogeographical data generated here was used to investigate the origin of <b>C. hirsuta</b> in the Azores, an oceanic archipelago. The Azores are dominated by an endemic chloroplast haplotype which is associated with an endemic phenotype. Thus, <b>C. hirsuta</b> appears to have diversified <b>in situ</b> in the Azores. Phylogenetic analyses of Cardamine, restricted to diploid species to remove the confounding effects of polyploids, found that <b>C. hirsuta</b> is most closely related to <b>C. oligosperma</b>, a western North American species. Multiple loci and extensive intraspecific sampling were brought to bear to demonstrate that <b>C. hirsuta</b> and <b>C. oligosperma</b> are reciprocally monophyletic. <b>Cardamine pattersonii</b>, a restricted endemic from north-west Oregon is likely to be an allopolyploid, with <b>C. oligosperma</b> as the maternal parent and possibly <b>C. nuttallii</b> as the paternal parent.

Dans cette thèse, je reconstitue la dynamique de la circulation méridienne de retournement de l’Atlantique (AMOC) au cours des changements climatiques rapides de la dernière période glaciaire. Je trouve ainsi que le ralentissement de la cellule supérieure de l’AMOC commence 1420 ± 250 (1σ) années avant le déplacement vers le sud de l’ITCZ associé au « Heinrich Stadial » 2 et 690 ± 180 (1σ) années avant celui associé au « Heinrich Stadial » 4. Mes résultats confirment donc qu’un ralentissement de l’AMOC pourrait être à l’origine des migrations de l’ITCZ associées aux « Heinrich Stadials » et fournissent une première estimation précise du décalage temporel entre ces deux variables climatiques. Sur la base de ces résultats, je propose un mécanisme expliquant les différences entre les « Heinrich Stadials » et les « Dansgaard-Oeschger Stadials ».Je montre que deux cellules de circulation étaient probablement actives dans l’océan Atlantique pendant les périodes chaudes au Groenland (« interstadials ») : une cellule supérieure initiée par l’écoulement au-dessus de 2500 m d’une masse d’eau en provenance du nord et se dirigeant vers le sud, et une cellule inférieure initiée par l’écoulement au-dessous de 4000 m d’une masse d’eau en provenance du sud et se dirigeant vers le nord. Le taux de renouvellement de la masse d’eau profonde de la cellule supérieure était probablement plus faible que celle de la masse d’eau actuellement formée dans les hautes latitudes de l’océan Atlantique Nord. Au début des « Heinrich Stadials », la structure de l’AMOC a significativement changé et des eaux en provenance du sud ont probablement dominé l’océan Atlantique en-dessous de 1300 m de profondeur. / In this thesis, I reconstruct the dynamic of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) during fast climate changes of the last glacial period. I find that the AMOC upper circulation cell started to slowdown 1420 ± 250 (1σ) and 690 ± 180 (1σ) years before the southward shifts of the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone associated with Heinrich Stadial 2 and Heinrich Stadial 4, respectively. I therefore confirm that an AMOC slowdown could be at the origin of the ITCZ shifts that occured during Heinrich Stadials and provide the first precise estimate of the phasing between these two climate variables. Based on these results I propose a mechanism explaining the difference between Heinrich and Dansgaard-Oeschger stadials.Using modeling results, I show that the Atlantic Ocean circulation during periods of higher Greenland temperatures (interstadials) was markedly different from that of the Holocene. Two overturning cells were likely active in the Atlantic Ocean: an upper overturning circulation cell initiated by northern-sourced deep water flowing southward above ~2500 m depth at the equator, and a lower overturning circulation cell initiated by southern sourced deep water flowing northward below ~4000 m depth at the equator. The overturning rate of the upper overturning cell was likely lower than that of present-day North Atlantic Deep Water. At the onset of Heinrich Stadials, the structure of the AMOC significantly changed, and southern-sourced deep-waters likely dominated the equatorial Atlantic Ocean below 1300 m depth.

Este estudo apresenta indicações de mudanças paleoceanográficas ao longo dos últimos 25.000 anos na porção oeste do Oceano Atlântico Sul a partir do registro da variação de nanofósseis calcários em dois testemunhos de sedimento marinho da margem continental nordeste do Brasil. Outros indicadores foram incorporados às análises de nanofósseis calcários no intuito de melhor compreender as alterações observadas nas assembléias fósseis: 1) dados isotópicos de oxigênio de testas de foraminíferos planctônicos e bentônicos; 2) índice de temperatura e de nutrientes; 3) equação de paleoprodutividade e 4) análises estatísticas multivariadas. Os índices de temperatura e nutrientes foram, pela primeira vez, aplicados a nanofósseis calcários do Quaternário em amostras do Atlântico Sul. A integração dos resultados sugere que as principais características oceanográficas não sofreram alterações significativas nos últimos 25.000 anos, embora condições ambientais instáveis tenham sido registradas a partir da transição do Último Máximo Glacial - Holoceno. Durante o Último Máximo Glacial a região estudada sofreu pouca variação de temperatura, funcionando como um reservatório de calor. A variação da profundidade da termoclina/nutriclina foi considerada a principal resposta às oscilações climáticas, sendo relacionada às mudanças de intensidade dos ventos alísios. / This study focuses on changes in calcareous nannofossil assemblages as an evidence of paleoceanographic variability during the last 25,000 years in two deep sea piston cores from the northeastern Brazilian continental margin. To support reconstructing ancient marine environment others proxies have been applied along with the calcareous nannofossil analysis: 1) oxygen isotopic data from planktonic and benthic foraminifers\' tests; 2) temperature and nutrient indices; 3) paleoproductivity equation and 4) multivariate analysis. For the first time the temperature and nutrient indices were employed to Quaternary calcareous nannofossil from the South Atlantic Ocean. According to presented results major oceanographic features were stable in the last 25,000 years, although instable environmental conditions were recorded in the Last Glacial Maximum - Holocene boundary. During the Last Glacial Maximum the western tropical Atlantic seems to have experienced slight temperature changes and served as a heat and salt reservoir. Nutricline and thermocline depth variation was considered the most important response to climate changes largely related to Trade Winds strength oscillation.

Le sujet de ma thèse traite les changements paléoenvironnementaux et paléoclimatiques qui ont affecté les écosystèmes du Moyen Atlas marocain depuis la dernière période glaciaire, centrée autour de 25,000 cal BP. Les trois séquences sédimentaires étudiées dans cette thèse ont été prélevées le long d'un transect Nord-Sud dans le Moyen Atlas. Cette étude est basée sur une approche multi-bioindicateurs intégrant la palynologie, la géochimie élémentaire et la granulométrie afin de comprendre la dynamique des écosystèmes passés et de mettre en évidence les impacts anthropiques sur ces écosystèmes et leurs bassins versants. Les résultats obtenus montrent que durant la dernière période glaciaire et jusqu’au début de l’holocène, une végétation steppique a dominé les paysages du Moyen Atlas en réponse à des conditions climatiques froides et arides. Cependant, des populations de cèdres, de chênes et de pins ont persisté durant la période glaciaire dans des micro-refuges. Bien que le début de l’holocène révèle une expansion des chênes et des pins (principaux composants des écosystèmes forestiers méditerranéens), la steppe (composée d'armoise, de chénopodiacées et de graminées) a persisté jusqu’à 6.5 ka cal BP. Ces écosystèmes tolérant à la sécheresse reflètent un début de l’holocène chaud mais avec une quantité de précipitations annuelles assez réduite pour permettre l'expansion des forêts tel que nous l'observons en Europe et d’autres régions de la Méditerranée. Ce n'est qu'à partir de 6.5 ka cal BP que les forêts de cèdre s’installent aux altitudes des sites étudiés (autour de 1600m) et que des plantes aquatiques prolifèrent dans les marais ou nous avons effectué les sondages. Nous observons ensuite une nette régression du couvert arboré à partir de 4.5 ka cal BP, notamment les chênes décidus, et une expansion des taxons herbacés. Ceci est le résultat d’une tendance vers des conditions plus arides témoignant d'une installation du climat méditerranéen tel que nous le connaissons aujourd'hui. Le début des changements environnementaux liés à l'impact humain, à travers les données palynologiques et géochimiques, n'est enregistré qu’à partir de ca. 1500 cal BP. Les résultats obtenus dans cette thèse sont en accord avec ceux d'autres études paléoenvironnementales menées en Méditerranée autant pour la période glaciaire que pour le début des conditions arides à partir de 5.5 ka cal BP. / This thesis discusses the paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic changes that have affected the ecosystems of the Moroccan Middle Atlas since the last glacial period, and focuses around 25000 cal BP. The three sedimentary sequences that have been studied in this thesis were taken along a North-South transect in the Middle Atlas. This study is based on a multi-bio-indicators approach, including palynology, geochemical elements and particle size, in order to better understand the dynamic of previous ecosystems and to highlight the human activities on these ecosystems and on their catchment areas.The results obtained show that during the last glacial period, and until the beginning of the Holocene, steppe vegetation was predominant in the Middle Atlas, in reaction to cold and arid climate conditions. However, populations of cedars, oaks and pine trees remained in micro-refugia. Although the beginning of the Holocene reveals an expansion of oaks and pines trees (the main components of Mediterranean forests ecosystems), the steppe (which is composed of Artemisia, Chenopodiaceae and grasses) persisted till 6.5 ka cal BP. These drought-tolerant ecosystems reflect a warm beginning of the Holocene, with an amount of precipitation that was low enough to allow the expansion of forests similar to those we can observe in Europe and other areas of the Mediterranean. It’s only since 6.5 ka cal BP that cedars forests have started to grow at the altitudes of the sites we studied (around 1600m), and that aquatic plants have proliferated in the marshes where we took our samples. We can then observe a sharp decline of tree cover, including deciduous oaks, starting 4.5 ka cal BP and an expansion of herbaceous taxa. These are the consequences of a tendency to conditions that were more arid, attesting the installation of the Mediterranean climate as we know it today. The first environmental changes linked to human impact have only been recorded, through palynology and biochemical data, from ca. 1500 cal BP. The results obtained in this thesis are in line with those obtained in other paleoenvironmental studies conducted in the Mediterranean area, for the glacial period as well as for the beginning of arid conditions starting 5.5 ka cal BP.

As assembléias dos foraminíferos planctônicos fósseis de dois testemunhos amostrados do Atlântico tropical oeste representativo dos últimos 30.000 anos foram analisadas junto com estimativas de paleotemperatura superficial e &#8706;18O e &#8706;13C do foraminífero planctônico Globigerinoides ruber \'branca\'. Estes resultados mostraram que durante o Último Máximo Glacial e durante os eventos de resfriamento de curta duração Heinrich 1 and Younger Dryas o Atlântico tropical oeste manteve altas paleotemperaturas superficiais. Este estudo sugere que durante este período o Atlântico tropical oeste ocorreu uma acumulação de sal e clor nesta porção do Atlântico como conseqüência do enfraqueciemnto do transporte de calor e sal através do equador. Ao final destes eventos a intensificação do transporte de calor e sal foi restabelecido, baixando a temperatura superficial aos valores conhecidos atuamente. Este estudo sugere que o Atlântico tropical oeste atuou como um reservatório de calor e sal durante a deglaciação. / The planktonic foraminiferal assemblages of two piston cores from western tropical Atlantic covering the last 30,000 years have been analysed together with paleoceanographic ANN sea surface temperature reconstruction and ?18O and ?13C of the shallow dwelling planntonic foraminifera Globigerinoides ruber \'white\'. These proxies reveal that during the Last Glacial Maximum and during the Heinrich 1 and Younger Dryas cold events, the western tropical experienced warm periods. This study suggest that during these warm intervals a pronounced accumulation of heat and salt occurred at western tropical Atlantic, as a result of cross-equatorial heat and salt transport decrease. At the end of these events, the intensification of cross-equatorial heat and salt transport cooled and freshened the western tropical surface waters. This study suggests the western tropical Atlantic served as a heat and salt reservoir during deglaciation.

Paleoenvironmental records provide ample information on the Late Quaternary climatic evolution. Due to the great diversity of continental mid-latitude environments the synthetic picture of the past mid-latitudinal climate changes is, however, far from being complete. Owing to its significant size and landlocked setting the Black Sea constitutes a perfect location to study patterns and mechanisms of climate change along the continental interior of Central and Eastern Europe and Asia Minor. Presently, the southern drainage area of the Black Sea is characterized by a Mediterranean-type climate while the northern drainage is under the influence of Central and Northern European climate. During the Last Glacial a decrease in the global sea level disconnected the Black Sea from the Mediterranean Sea transforming it into a giant closed lake. At that time atmospheric precipitation and related with it river run-off were the most important factors driving sediment supply and water chemistry of the Black ‘Lake’. Therefore studying properties of the Black Sea sediments provides important information on the interactions and development of the Mediterranean and Central and North European climate in the past. One significant outcome of my thesis is an improved chronostraphigraphical framework for the glacial lacustrine unit of the Black Sea sediment cores, which allowed to refine the environmental history of the Black Sea region and enabled a reliable correlation with data from other marine and terrestrial archives. Data gathered along a N-S transect presented on a common time scale revealed coherent changes in the basin and its surrounding. During the glacial, the southward-shifted Polar Front reduced moisture transport to the northern drainage of the Black Sea and let the southern drainage become dominant in freshwater and sediment supply into the basin. Changes in NW Anatolian precipitation reconstructed from the variability of the terrigenous input imply that during the glacial the regional rainfall variability was strongly influenced by Mediterranean sea surface temperatures and decreased in response to the cooling associated with the North Atlantic Heinrich Events H1 and H2. In contrast to regional precipitation changes, the hydrological properties of the Black Sea remained relatively stable under full glacial conditions. First significant modification in the freshwater/sediment sources reconstructed from changes in the sediment composition, lithology, and 18O of ostracods took place at around 16.4 cal ka BP, simultaneous to the early deglacial northward retreat of the oceanic and atmospheric polar fronts. Meltwater pulses, most probably derived from the disintegrating European ice sheets, changed the isotopic composition of the Black Sea and increased the supply from northern sediment sources. While these changes signalized a mitigation of the Northern European and Mediterranean climate, a decisive increase in local temperature was indicated only later at the transition from the Oldest Dryas to the Bølling around 14.6 cal ka BP. At that time the warming of the Black Sea surface initiated massive phytoplankton blooms, which in turn, induced the precipitation of inorganic carbonates. This biologically triggered process significantly changed the water chemistry and was recorded by simultaneous shifts in the elemental composition of ostracod shells and in the isotopic composition of the inorganically-precipitated carbonates. Starting with the B/A warming and continuing through the YD cold interval and the Early Holocene warming, the Black Sea temperature signal corresponds to the precipitation and temperature changes recorded in the wider Mediterranean region. Early Holocene conditions, similar to those of the Bølling/Allerød, were punctured by the marine inflow from the Mediterranean at ~ 9.3 cal ka BP, which terminated the lacustrine phase of the Black Sea and had a substantial impact on the chemical and physical properties of its water. / Aus Paläoumweltdaten lassen sich detaillierte Informationen über die spätquartäre Klimaentwicklung gewinnen. Für die kontinentalen mittleren Breiten ist das Gesamtbild der Klimaänderungen während dieses Zeitraumes aufgrund seiner Vielfältigkeit allerdings noch immer unvollständig. Eine ideale Loka-tion, das Muster und die Mechanismen der Klimaänderungen in Osteuropa und Kleinasien zu untersu-chen, ist das Schwarze Meer mit seiner bedeutenden Größe und seiner kontinentalen Lage. Gegenwärtig ist das südliche Einzugsgebiet des Schwarzen Meeres durch ein mediterranes Klima ge-prägt, während die nördlichen Regionen von zentral- bzw. nordeuropäischem Klima beeinflusst werden. Als im letzten Glazial der Meeresspiegel so stark sank, dass das Schwarze Meer vom Mittelmeer abge-trennt und zu einem großen, abflusslosen See wurde, waren der atmosphärische Niederschlag und der damit verbundene Abfluss die wesentlichen Steuerfaktoren für Sedimenteintrag und Wasserchemie des Schwarzen „Sees“. Deshalb liefert die Untersuchung der Sedimente des Schwarzen Meeres wichtige Informationen über die früheren Zusammenhänge sowie die Entwicklung von mediterranem und zentral- bzw. nordeuropäischem Klima. Das bedeutsamste Ergebnis meiner Doktorarbeit ist ein verbessertes Altersmodell für Sedimentkerne aus dem westlichen Schwarzen Meer; dieses erlaubt eine genauere Rekonstruktion der Entwicklungsge-schichte dieses Binnenmeeres und seiner Umgebung und ermöglicht einen fundierten Vergleich mit an-deren marinen und terrestrischen Archiven. Daten, die entlang eines N-S Transektes im westlichen Be-reich des Schwarzen Meeres erfasst wurden und auf einer gemeinsamen Zeitskala dargestellt werden, lassen die folgenden zusammenhängenden Entwicklungen im Becken und seiner Umgebung erkennen: Während des Glazials war der Feuchtigkeitstransport zum nördlichen Einzugsgebiet des Schwarzen Meeres aufgrund der südwärts verlagerten Polarfront vermindert, so dass Süßwasser und Sedimente vor-rangig aus dem südlichen Einzugsgebiet in das Becken gelangten. Die Rekonstruktion von Nieder-schlagsänderungen mit Hilfe von Schwankungen des terrigenen Eintrags zeigt, dass der regionale Nie-derschlag im Glazial stark von den Wasseroberflächentemperaturen des Mittelmeeres beeinflusst wurde und als Folge der Abkühlung während der nordatlantischen Heinrich-Ereignisse H1 und H2 abnahm. Im Gegensatz dazu blieb das Schwarze Meer während des Hochglazials hydrologisch relativ stabil. Die Sedimentzusammensetzung, Lithologie und δ18O-Werte von Ostracoden zeigen, dass erste signifi-kante Änderungen im Frischwasser- und Sedimenteintrag zeitgleich mit dem frühglazialen nordwärtigen Rückzug der ozeanischen und atmosphärischen Polarfronten um 16.4 cal ka BP auftraten. Der Schmelz-wassereintrag abschmelzender europäischer Eisflächen veränderte die Isotopenzusammensetzung des Wassers und erhöhte die Sedimentzufuhr aus den nördlichen Quellen. Während diese Änderungen auf ein bereits milderes Klima in Nordeuropa und im Mittelmeerraum hin-deuten, zeigt sich ein Anstieg der lokalen Temperaturen erst während des Übergangs von der Älteren Dryas zum Bølling/Allerød um etwa 14.6 cal. ka BP. Zu diesem Zeitpunkt führte ein wahrscheinlicher Anstieg der Wasseroberflächentemperaturen im Schwarzen Meer zu einem massiven Phytoplankton-wachstum, welcher die Ausfällung anorganischen Karbonats zur Folge hatte. Dieser biologisch ausgelös-te Prozess veränderte maßgeblich die Wasserchemie und spiegelt sich in simultanen Veränderungen der Elementzusammensetzung von Ostracoden und der Isotopenzusammensetzung von anorganisch ausge-fälltem Karbonat wieder. Beginnend mit dem Bølling/Allerød, durch die Jüngere Dryas Kälteperiode und die frühholozäne Erwärmung hindurch, deckt sich das Temperatursignal des Schwarzen Meeres mit den Niederschlags- und Temperaturänderungen des weiteren Mittelmeerraumes. Das Frühholozän war, ähnlich wie das Bølling/Allerød, durch das Einströmen salzhaltigen Meerwassers aus dem Mittelmeer gekennzeichnet (~9.5 cal. ka BP), welches die lakustrine Phase des Schwarzen Mee-res beendete und einen erheblichen Einfluss auf seine chemischen und physikalischen Wassereigen-schaften ausübte.

Parasitism in plants is often accompanied by a suite of morphological and physiological changes resulting in a condition known as the ‘parasitic reduction syndrome’. With changes including extreme vegetative reduction, frequently beyond any resemblance to its photosynthetic relatives, accompanied by significant losses of genes linked to photosynthesis, the study of parasitic plants can be challenging. Conopholis (Orobanchaceae) is a small holoparasitic genus distributed across eastern and southwestern North America and Central America. This genus has never been the subject of a molecular phylogenetic or morphometric analyses. In addition, very little is known of the relationships among populations and of their post-glacial history. To investigate the species limits and phylogenetic relationships in Conopholis, we conducted a comprehensive molecular phylogenetic study of the genus as well as a fine-scale morphometric study. Based on plastid and nuclear sequences, Conopholis was found to contain three distinct and well-supported lineages which have varying degrees of overlap with previously proposed taxa. The clustering and ordination analyses of the morphometric study corroborated the molecular data, demonstrating the morphological differentiation between the three lineages detected within Conopholis. A taxonomic re-alignment is proposed for the genus that recognizes three species, C. americana, C. panamensis, and C. alpina. To address genetic diversity and phylogeographic structure of C. americana in eastern North America, microsatellite markers were developed and characterized for the first time in this species. Using these newly generated markers along with sequences from the plastid genome, the persistence of a minimum of two glacial refugia at the last glacial maximum were inferred, one in Florida and southern Alabama and another in the Appalachian Mountains near the southern tip of Blue Ridge Mountains. The diversity seen across the southern Appalachian Mountains supports the hypothesis that populations derived from the southern and northern refugia come together in this area.