Nunataks as glacial refugia? A molecular phylogeographic case study with Draba aizoides

Abstract

Where have alpine plants survived the ice ages? The nunatak-hypothesis states that they survived on single mountain tops surmounting the general icelevel (nunataks). In contrast, according to the tabula-rasa hypothesis , all alpine populations became extinct during the Last Glacial Maximum. and those that survived in peripheral refugia re-immigrated after the retreat of the glaciers.