Conservation genetics of Antarctic seabirds and seals: population connectivity and past glacial refugia

• Other Authors: YOUNGER, JANE (hasPrincipalInvestigator), MILLER, KAREN (hasPrincipalInvestigator), Australian Antarctic Data Centre (publisher)
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: Australian Antarctic Data Centre
• Subjects: biota; PENGUINS; EARTH SCIENCE; BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION; ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES; BIRDS; SEALS/SEA LIONS/WALRUSES; MAMMALS; CARNIVORES; GENOMICS; RAD-SEQ; ADS > Automated DNA Sequencer; LABORATORY; GEOGRAPHIC REGION > POLAR; CONTINENT > ANTARCTICA; OCEAN > SOUTHERN OCEAN; Antarctic; Southern Ocean; Weddell; Adelie penguin; Antarc*; Antarctica; Sea ice; Weddell Seal; walrus*
• Online Access: https://researchdata.ands.org.au/conservation-genetics-antarctic-glacial-refugia/945766; https://data.aad.gov.au/metadata/records/AAS_4184_seabirds_seals_genetics; http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-617536

Metadata record for data from AAS project 4184. Public summary The Weddell seal, Adelie penguin and emperor penguin are key Antarctic predators that are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, as they live within the sea-ice zone and are adapted to thrive in the coldest environment on Earth. Given this threat, an understanding of their resilience to long-term environmental change is of immediate concern. Our research aims to better understand the resilience of Antarctic seabirds and seals to climate change using genetic approaches. We are investigating how these predators were affected by historical climate change by determining changes in their population sizes over the past 80,000 years. We are also assessing patterns of interbreeding among colonies to determine the extent of species dispersal, an important component in understanding the likely responses of populations to climate change. Project objectives 1. Identify the number of genetic lineages, examine evidence of past population bottlenecks and likely distribution patterns for selected seabirds and seals, particularly during past glacial and inter glacial periods when the breeding habitats for those species were probably very different to present conditions. 2. Determine from genetic studies the phylogeographic relationships among present day populations, the present day migration patterns and population connectivity over a range of spatial scales including the nature, magnitude and direction of movement for populations of selected species of seabirds and seals. Data: Genetic datasets - Sanger sequencing, Illumina short reads, SNP datasets