Hybridization of Atlantic puffins in the Arctic coincides with 20th-century climate change

• Published in: Science Advances
• Main Authors: Kersten, Oliver Sven, Star, Bastiaan, Krabberød, Anders Kristian, Atmore, Lane, Tørresen, Ole K., Anker-Nilssen, Tycho, Descamps, Sebastien, Strøm, Hallvard, Johansson, Ulf S., Sweet, Paul R., Jakobsen, Kjetill Sigurd, Boessenkool, Sanne
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science 2023
• Subjects: VDP::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480; Arctic; Bjørnøya; Norway; Climate change
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10852/105745; https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adh1407

The Arctic is experiencingthe fastest rates of globalwarming,leadingto shiftsin the distributionof its biotaandincreasingthe potentialfor hybridization. However, genomicevidenceof recenthybridization events in theArctic remainsunexpectedlyrare. Here, we use whole-genomesequencingof contemporary and 122-year-oldhistoricalspecimensto investigate the originof an Arctic hybridpopulation of Atlanticpuffins(Fr aterculaarctica)on Bjørnøya, Norway. We show that the hybridization between the High Arctic, large-bodiedsubspeciesF. a. naumanniand the temperate, smaller-sizedsubspeciesF. a. arcticabeganas recentlyas six generationsagodue to an unexpectedsouthward rangeexpansionofF. a. naumanni.Moreover, we find a significanttemporalloss of geneticdiversityacross Arctic and temperate puffinpopulations.Our observationsprovide compellinggenomicevidenceof the impacts of recentdistributionalshiftsand loss of diversityin Arctic communitiesduringthe 20th century.