Revised distribution of an Alaskan endemic, the Alaska Hare ( Lepus othus), with implications for taxonomy, biogeography, and climate change
The Alaska Hare (Lepus othus Merriam 1900) is the largest lagomorph in North America but remains one of the most poorly studied terrestrial mammals on the continent. Its current distribution is restricted to western Alaska south of the Brooks Range, but historical accounts from north of the Brooks R...
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/as-2015-0019 2024-09-09T19:13:52+00:00 Revised distribution of an Alaskan endemic, the Alaska Hare ( Lepus othus), with implications for taxonomy, biogeography, and climate change Cason, Michelle M. Baltensperger, Andrew P. Booms, Travis L. Burns, John J. Olson, Link E. 2016 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/as-2015-0019 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/as-2015-0019 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/as-2015-0019 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Arctic Science volume 2, issue 2, page 50-66 ISSN 2368-7460 2368-7460 journal-article 2016 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2015-0019 2024-06-20T04:11:54Z The Alaska Hare (Lepus othus Merriam 1900) is the largest lagomorph in North America but remains one of the most poorly studied terrestrial mammals on the continent. Its current distribution is restricted to western Alaska south of the Brooks Range, but historical accounts from north of the Brooks Range (the North Slope) have led to confusion over its past, present, and predicted future distributions. To determine if L. othus occurs or historically occurred on the North Slope, we surveyed museum collections, vetted observational accounts, and produced a spatial distribution model based on the resulting georeferenced records. We located a historic specimen long presumed lost that suggests the occurrence of L. othus on the North Slope as recently as the late 1800s. We also uncovered evidence of L. othus and (or) Mountain Hare (Lepus timidus Linnaeus 1758) on several islands in the Bering Sea, raising the possibility of recurring gene flow between these closely related species across seasonal ice connecting Asia and North America. While our results paint a more complete picture of the current distribution of L. othus, persistent uncertainties surrounding its taxonomic status and potential northward range shift onto lands reserved for oil and gas development call for additional study. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Bering Sea Brooks Range Lepus timidus mountain hare north slope Alaska Canadian Science Publishing Bering Sea Arctic Science 2 2 50 66 |
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Open Polar |
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Canadian Science Publishing |
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crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
description |
The Alaska Hare (Lepus othus Merriam 1900) is the largest lagomorph in North America but remains one of the most poorly studied terrestrial mammals on the continent. Its current distribution is restricted to western Alaska south of the Brooks Range, but historical accounts from north of the Brooks Range (the North Slope) have led to confusion over its past, present, and predicted future distributions. To determine if L. othus occurs or historically occurred on the North Slope, we surveyed museum collections, vetted observational accounts, and produced a spatial distribution model based on the resulting georeferenced records. We located a historic specimen long presumed lost that suggests the occurrence of L. othus on the North Slope as recently as the late 1800s. We also uncovered evidence of L. othus and (or) Mountain Hare (Lepus timidus Linnaeus 1758) on several islands in the Bering Sea, raising the possibility of recurring gene flow between these closely related species across seasonal ice connecting Asia and North America. While our results paint a more complete picture of the current distribution of L. othus, persistent uncertainties surrounding its taxonomic status and potential northward range shift onto lands reserved for oil and gas development call for additional study. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Cason, Michelle M. Baltensperger, Andrew P. Booms, Travis L. Burns, John J. Olson, Link E. |
spellingShingle |
Cason, Michelle M. Baltensperger, Andrew P. Booms, Travis L. Burns, John J. Olson, Link E. Revised distribution of an Alaskan endemic, the Alaska Hare ( Lepus othus), with implications for taxonomy, biogeography, and climate change |
author_facet |
Cason, Michelle M. Baltensperger, Andrew P. Booms, Travis L. Burns, John J. Olson, Link E. |
author_sort |
Cason, Michelle M. |
title |
Revised distribution of an Alaskan endemic, the Alaska Hare ( Lepus othus), with implications for taxonomy, biogeography, and climate change |
title_short |
Revised distribution of an Alaskan endemic, the Alaska Hare ( Lepus othus), with implications for taxonomy, biogeography, and climate change |
title_full |
Revised distribution of an Alaskan endemic, the Alaska Hare ( Lepus othus), with implications for taxonomy, biogeography, and climate change |
title_fullStr |
Revised distribution of an Alaskan endemic, the Alaska Hare ( Lepus othus), with implications for taxonomy, biogeography, and climate change |
title_full_unstemmed |
Revised distribution of an Alaskan endemic, the Alaska Hare ( Lepus othus), with implications for taxonomy, biogeography, and climate change |
title_sort |
revised distribution of an alaskan endemic, the alaska hare ( lepus othus), with implications for taxonomy, biogeography, and climate change |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/as-2015-0019 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/as-2015-0019 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/as-2015-0019 |
geographic |
Bering Sea |
geographic_facet |
Bering Sea |
genre |
Arctic Bering Sea Brooks Range Lepus timidus mountain hare north slope Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic Bering Sea Brooks Range Lepus timidus mountain hare north slope Alaska |
op_source |
Arctic Science volume 2, issue 2, page 50-66 ISSN 2368-7460 2368-7460 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2015-0019 |
container_title |
Arctic Science |
container_volume |
2 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
50 |
op_container_end_page |
66 |
_version_ |
1809754372314234880 |