On the origin of the Norwegian lemming
None: The Pleistocene glacial cycles resulted in significant changes in species distributions, and it has been discussed whether this caused increased rates of population divergence and speciation. One species that is likely to have evolved during the Pleistocene is the Norwegian lemming (Lemmus lem...
Published in: | Molecular Ecology |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | unknown |
Published: |
Wiley
2014
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/22500/5/Lemmus_article.pdf https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fmec.12698 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1111/mec.12698/fullpdf https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.12698 https://www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/mec.12698 http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/22500/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24661631 http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2:770298 https://core.ac.uk/display/42142484 http://su.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A718082 https://academic.microsoft.com/#/detail/2060657846 |
Summary: | None: The Pleistocene glacial cycles resulted in significant changes in species distributions, and it has been discussed whether this caused increased rates of population divergence and speciation. One species that is likely to have evolved during the Pleistocene is the Norwegian lemming (Lemmus lemmus). However, the origin of this species, both in terms of when and from what ancestral taxon it evolved, has been difficult to ascertain. Here, we use ancient DNA recovered from lemming remains from a series of Late Pleistocene and Holocene sites to explore the species' evolutionary history. The results revealed considerable genetic differentiation between glacial and contemporary samples. Moreover, the analyses provided strong support for a divergence time prior to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), therefore likely ruling out a postglacial colonization of Scandinavia. Consequently, it appears that the Norwegian lemming evolved from a small population that survived the LGM in an ice-free Scandinavian refugium. |
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