Pleistocene climate fluctuations drove demographic history of African golden wolves (Canis lupaster)

Pleistocene climate change impacted entire ecosystems throughout the world. In the northern hemisphere, the distribution of Arctic species expanded during glacial periods, while more temperate and mesic species contracted into climatic refugia, where isolation drove genetic divergence. Cycles of loc...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Molecular Ecology
Main Authors: Sarabia, Carlos, vonHoldt, Bridgett, Larrasoaña, Juan C., Urios, Vicente, Leonard, Jennifer A.
Other Authors: Universidad de Alicante. Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales y Recursos Naturales, Zoología de Vertebrados
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: John Wiley & Sons 2020
Subjects:
Canis anthus
Carnivore
Genomics
MiSTI
PSMC
Zoología
Arctic
Climate change
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10045/114701
https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.15784
Description
Summary:Pleistocene climate change impacted entire ecosystems throughout the world. In the northern hemisphere, the distribution of Arctic species expanded during glacial periods, while more temperate and mesic species contracted into climatic refugia, where isolation drove genetic divergence. Cycles of local cooling and warming in the Sahara region of northern Africa caused repeated contractions and expansions of savannah‐like environments which connected mesic species isolated in refugia during interglacial times, possibly driving population expansions and contractions; divergence and geneflow in the associated fauna. Here, we use whole genome sequences of African golden wolves (Canis lupaster), a generalist mesopredator with a wide distribution in northern Africa to estimate their demographic history and past episodes of geneflow. We detect a correlation between divergence times and cycles of increased aridity‐associated Pleistocene glacial cycles. A complex demographic history with responses to local climate change in different lineages was found, including a relict lineage north of the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco that has been isolated for more than 18,000 years, possibly a distinct ecotype. CS was supported by a PhD fellowship from Programa Internacional de Becas “La Caixa-Severo Ochoa” of the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad and La Caixa bank (BES-2015-074331). This project was funded by the Frontera grant P18-FR-5099 from the Junta de Andalucia. EBD-CSIC received support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under the ‘Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa 2013-2017’ program, SEV-2012-0262.

Similar Items