Frequent long-distance plant colonization in the changing Arctic

• Published in: Science
• Main Authors: Alsos, I. G., Eidesen, P. B., Ehrich, D., Skrede, I., Westergaard, K., Jacobsen, G. H., Landvik, J. Y., Taberlet, P., Brochmann, C.
• Other Authors: National Centre for Biosystematics (NCB), University of Oslo (UiO), Tromsø University Museum, University of Tromsø (UiT), Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine (LECA), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2007
• Subjects: ENVIRONMENTAL-CHANGE; CLIMATE-CHANGE; DISPERSAL; SVALBARD; DISTRIBUTIONS; MECHANISMS; MIGRATION; EUROPE; AREA; envir; geo; Arctic; Svalbard; Arctic Archipelago; Climate change; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1139178; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/halsde-00276508

Times Cited: 2 International audience 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.