Geography, climate, and patterns of genetic diversity in a bdelloid rotifer

The interplay between climate (current and past) and geography is known to be associated with spatial biodiversity patterns. Here we analyze genetic diversity in a bdelloid rotifer species complex along a latitudinal transect in Europe from ~40°N, Sardinia, to ~80°N, Svalbard. Contrary to what is described for larger organisms, none of the analyzed patterns of diversity correlates with climate, and a strange relationship with geographical distances is present.