Holocene deglaciation drove rapid genetic diversification of Atlantic walrus
(2023) In Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 290(2007). p.1-11- Abstract
- Rapid global warming is severely impacting Arctic ecosystems and is predicted to transform the abundance, distribution and genetic diversity of Arctic species, though these linkages are poorly understood. We address this gap in knowledge using palaeogenomics to examine how earlier periods of global warming influenced the genetic diversity of Atlantic walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus), a species closely associated with sea ice and shallow-water habitats. We analysed 82 ancient and historical Atlantic walrus mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes), including now-extinct populations in Iceland and the Canadian Maritimes, to reconstruct the Atlantic walrus’ response to Arctic deglaciation. Our results demonstrate that the phylogeography and... (More)
- Rapid global warming is severely impacting Arctic ecosystems and is predicted to transform the abundance, distribution and genetic diversity of Arctic species, though these linkages are poorly understood. We address this gap in knowledge using palaeogenomics to examine how earlier periods of global warming influenced the genetic diversity of Atlantic walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus), a species closely associated with sea ice and shallow-water habitats. We analysed 82 ancient and historical Atlantic walrus mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes), including now-extinct populations in Iceland and the Canadian Maritimes, to reconstruct the Atlantic walrus’ response to Arctic deglaciation. Our results demonstrate that the phylogeography and genetic diversity of Atlantic walrus populations was initially shaped by the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), surviving in distinct glacial refugia, and subsequently expanding rapidly in multiple migration waves during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene. The timing of diversification and establishment of distinct populations corresponds closely with the chronology of the glacial retreat, pointing to a strong link between walrus phylogeography and sea ice. Our results indicate that accelerated ice loss in the modern Arctic may trigger further dispersal events, likely increasing the connectivity of northern stocks while isolating more southerly stocks putatively caught in small pockets of suitable habitat. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/2624a062-d453-456c-8c3c-a579b27c9c23
- author
- Ruiz-Puerta, Emily J.
; Keighley, Xénia
; Desjardins, Sean P. A.
; Gotfredsen, Anne Birgitte
; En Pan, Shyong
; Star, Bastiaan
; Boessenkool, Sanne
; Barrett, James H.
; McCarthy, Morgan L.
; Andersen, Liselotte W.
; Born, Erik W.
; Howse, Lesley R.
; Szpak, Paul
; Pálsson, Snæbjörn
; Malmquist, Hilmar J.
; Rufolo, Scott
; Jordan, Peter
LU
and Olsen, Morten Tange
(Less) - organization
- publishing date
- 2023-09-27
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
- volume
- 290
- issue
- 2007
- article number
- 20231349
- pages
- 11 pages
- publisher
- Royal Society Publishing
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85174338158
- pmid:37752842
- ISSN
- 1471-2954
- DOI
- 10.1098/rspb.2023.1349
- project
- SEA CHANGES: Thresholds in Human Exploitation of Marine Vertebrates
- POSTGLACIAL: Comparative Perspectives on Cultural Responses to Postglacial Warming in Northern Eurasia
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 2624a062-d453-456c-8c3c-a579b27c9c23
- date added to LUP
- 2023-08-29 09:37:53
- date last changed
- 2023-12-16 03:00:02
@article{2624a062-d453-456c-8c3c-a579b27c9c23,
abstract = {{Rapid global warming is severely impacting Arctic ecosystems and is predicted to transform the abundance, distribution and genetic diversity of Arctic species, though these linkages are poorly understood. We address this gap in knowledge using palaeogenomics to examine how earlier periods of global warming influenced the genetic diversity of Atlantic walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus), a species closely associated with sea ice and shallow-water habitats. We analysed 82 ancient and historical Atlantic walrus mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes), including now-extinct populations in Iceland and the Canadian Maritimes, to reconstruct the Atlantic walrus’ response to Arctic deglaciation. Our results demonstrate that the phylogeography and genetic diversity of Atlantic walrus populations was initially shaped by the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), surviving in distinct glacial refugia, and subsequently expanding rapidly in multiple migration waves during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene. The timing of diversification and establishment of distinct populations corresponds closely with the chronology of the glacial retreat, pointing to a strong link between walrus phylogeography and sea ice. Our results indicate that accelerated ice loss in the modern Arctic may trigger further dispersal events, likely increasing the connectivity of northern stocks while isolating more southerly stocks putatively caught in small pockets of suitable habitat.}},
author = {{Ruiz-Puerta, Emily J. and Keighley, Xénia and Desjardins, Sean P. A. and Gotfredsen, Anne Birgitte and En Pan, Shyong and Star, Bastiaan and Boessenkool, Sanne and Barrett, James H. and McCarthy, Morgan L. and Andersen, Liselotte W. and Born, Erik W. and Howse, Lesley R. and Szpak, Paul and Pálsson, Snæbjörn and Malmquist, Hilmar J. and Rufolo, Scott and Jordan, Peter and Olsen, Morten Tange}},
issn = {{1471-2954}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{09}},
number = {{2007}},
pages = {{1--11}},
publisher = {{Royal Society Publishing}},
series = {{Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences}},
title = {{Holocene deglaciation drove rapid genetic diversification of Atlantic walrus}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.1349}},
doi = {{10.1098/rspb.2023.1349}},
volume = {{290}},
year = {{2023}},
}