Long-term population decline of a genetically homogenous continental-wide top Arctic predator

ABSTRACT Genetic analysis can provide valuable information for conservation programs by unraveling the demographic trajectory of populations, by estimating effective population size, or by inferring genetic differentiation between populations. Here, we investigated the genetic differentiation within...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Gousy-Leblanc, Marianne, Therrien, Jean-François, Broquet, Thomas, Rioux, Delphine, Curt-Grand-Gaudin, Nadine, Tissot, Nathalie, Tissot, Sophie, Szabo, Ildiko, Wilson, Laurie, Evans, Jack, Bowes, Victoria, Gauthier, Gilles, Wiebe, Karen, Yannic, Glenn, Lecomte, Nicolas
Other Authors: Adaptation et diversité en milieu marin (AD2M), Station biologique de Roscoff Roscoff (SBR), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Format: Report
Language:English
Published: HAL CCSD 2022
Subjects:
[SDE]Environmental Sciences
Arctic
Bubo scandiacus
Climate change
Global warming
snowy owl
Tundra
Online Access:https://hal.sorbonne-universite.fr/hal-03898488
https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.04.29.490071
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Summary:ABSTRACT Genetic analysis can provide valuable information for conservation programs by unraveling the demographic trajectory of populations, by estimating effective population size, or by inferring genetic differentiation between populations. Here, we investigated the genetic differentiation within the Snowy Owl ( Bubo scandiacus ), a species identified as vulnerable by the IUCN, to (i) quantify connectivity among wintering areas, (ii) to evaluate current genetic diversity and effective population size and (iii) to infer changes in the historical effective population size changes from the last millennia to the recent past. The Snowy Owl, a highly mobile top predator, breeds across the Arctic tundra which is a region especially sensitive to current climate change. Using SNP-based analyses on Snowy Owls sampled across the North American nonbreeding range, we found an absence of genetic differentiation among individuals located up to 4,650 km apart. Our results suggest high genetic intermixing and effective dispersal at the continental scale despite documented philopatry to nonbreeding sites in winter. Reconstructing the population demographic indicated that North American Snowy Owls have been steadily declining since the Last Glacial Maximum ca 20,000 years ago and concurrently with global increases in temperature. Conservation programs should now consider North American Snowy Owls as a single, genetically homogenous continental-wide population which is most likely sensitive to the long-term global warming occurring since the Last Glacial Maximum.

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