Frequent Long-Distance Plant Colonization in the Changing Arctic

The ability of species to track their ecological niche after climate change is a major source of uncertainty in predicting their future distribution. By analyzing DNA fingerprinting (amplified fragment-length polymorphism) of nine plant species, we show that long-distance colonization of a remote ar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science
Main Authors: Alsos, Inger Greve, Eidesen, Pernille Bronken, Ehrich, Dorothee, Skrede, Inger, Westergaard, Kristine, Jacobsen, Gro Hilde, Landvik, Jon Y., Taberlet, Pierre, Brochmann, Christian
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2007
Subjects:
Arctic
Svalbard
Arctic Archipelago
Climate change
Sea ice
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1139178
https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.1139178
Description
Summary:The ability of species to track their ecological niche after climate change is a major source of uncertainty in predicting their future distribution. By analyzing DNA fingerprinting (amplified fragment-length polymorphism) of nine plant species, we show that long-distance colonization of a remote arctic archipelago, Svalbard, has occurred repeatedly and from several source regions. Propagules are likely carried by wind and drifting sea ice. The genetic effect of restricted colonization was strongly correlated with the temperature requirements of the species, indicating that establishment limits distribution more than dispersal. Thus, it may be appropriate to assume unlimited dispersal when predicting long-term range shifts in the Arctic.

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