If the Mediterranean basin was formed by an eruption, relatively recently, than its flora and fauna were founded and built on later by very many introduction events; could a superimposition of putative sea trade roads on a map of genetic closeness of specific groups of organisms (including the improbable ones) let us know how much diversity was brought there in the ancient times?
(Like those molluscs that hopped rides on ships. Some ships had to drown in the open sea, which would, I think, give rise to new populations?)
If the Mediterranean basin was formed by an eruption, relatively recently
Eh? The last truly cataclysmic event in the Mediterranean basin was about 5 million years ago—a bit too early for sea trade routes. And if you mean the Santorini eruption, it did not kill off the local flora and fauna necessitating introduction events.
Well, no, I didn’t mean that the sea trade was the only source of introductions, just that it might have left still-distinct ‘tracks’ by adding species less likely to be carried in by the initial flood.
If the Mediterranean basin was formed by an eruption, relatively recently, than its flora and fauna were founded and built on later by very many introduction events; could a superimposition of putative sea trade roads on a map of genetic closeness of specific groups of organisms (including the improbable ones) let us know how much diversity was brought there in the ancient times?
(Like those molluscs that hopped rides on ships. Some ships had to drown in the open sea, which would, I think, give rise to new populations?)
Eh? The last truly cataclysmic event in the Mediterranean basin was about 5 million years ago—a bit too early for sea trade routes. And if you mean the Santorini eruption, it did not kill off the local flora and fauna necessitating introduction events.
Well, no, I didn’t mean that the sea trade was the only source of introductions, just that it might have left still-distinct ‘tracks’ by adding species less likely to be carried in by the initial flood.