Demographic reconstruction from ancient DNA supports rapid extinction of the great auk
The great auk was once abundant and distributed across the North Atlantic. It is now extinct, having been heavily exploited for its eggs, meat, and feathers. We investigated the impact of human hunting on its demise by integrating genetic data, GPS-based ocean current data, and analyses of populatio...
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2019
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ftunivcardiff:oai:https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk:135612 2023-05-15T16:22:54+02:00 Demographic reconstruction from ancient DNA supports rapid extinction of the great auk Thomas, Jessica E. Carvalho, Gary R. Haile, James Rawlence, Nicolas J. Martin, Michael D. Ho, Simon Y. W. Sigfusson, Arnór Þ. Josefsson, Vigfús A . Frederiksen, Morten Linnebjerg, Jannie F. Samaniego Castruita, Jose A. Niemann, Jonas Sinding, Mikkel-Holger S. Sandoval-Velasco, Marcela Soares, André E. R. Lacy, Robert Barilaro, Christina Best, Julia Brandis, Dirk Cavallo, Chiara Elorza, Mikelo Garrett, Kimball L. Groot, Maaike Johansson, Friederike Lifjeld, Jan T. Nilson, Göran Serjeantson, Dale Sweet, Paul Fuller, Eeeol Hufthammer, Anne Karin Meldgaard, Morten Fjeldsa, Jon Shapiro, Beth Hofreiter, Michael Stewart, John R. Gilbert, M. Thomas P. Knapp, Michael 2019-11-26 application/pdf https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/135612/ https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.47509 https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/135612/1/elife-47509-v1.pdf en eng eLife Sciences Publications https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/135612/1/elife-47509-v1.pdf Thomas, Jessica E., Carvalho, Gary R., Haile, James, Rawlence, Nicolas J., Martin, Michael D., Ho, Simon Y. W., Sigfusson, Arnór Þ., Josefsson, Vigfús A ., Frederiksen, Morten, Linnebjerg, Jannie F., Samaniego Castruita, Jose A., Niemann, Jonas, Sinding, Mikkel-Holger S., Sandoval-Velasco, Marcela, Soares, André E. R., Lacy, Robert, Barilaro, Christina, Best, Julia https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/view/cardiffauthors/A2289046W.html orcid:0000-0002-8943-5427 orcid:0000-0002-8943-5427, Brandis, Dirk, Cavallo, Chiara, Elorza, Mikelo, Garrett, Kimball L., Groot, Maaike, Johansson, Friederike, Lifjeld, Jan T., Nilson, Göran, Serjeantson, Dale, Sweet, Paul, Fuller, Eeeol, Hufthammer, Anne Karin, Meldgaard, Morten, Fjeldsa, Jon, Shapiro, Beth, Hofreiter, Michael, Stewart, John R., Gilbert, M. Thomas P. and Knapp, Michael 2019. Demographic reconstruction from ancient DNA supports rapid extinction of the great auk. eLife 8 , e47509. 10.7554/eLife.47509 https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.47509 file https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/135612/1/elife-47509-v1.pdf doi:10.7554/eLife.47509 cc_by CC-BY Article PeerReviewed 2019 ftunivcardiff https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.47509 2022-11-10T23:38:07Z The great auk was once abundant and distributed across the North Atlantic. It is now extinct, having been heavily exploited for its eggs, meat, and feathers. We investigated the impact of human hunting on its demise by integrating genetic data, GPS-based ocean current data, and analyses of population viability. We sequenced complete mitochondrial genomes of 41 individuals from across the species’ deographic range and reconstructed population structure and population dynamics throughout the Holocene. Taken together, our data do not provide any evidence that great auks were at risk of extinction prior to the onset of intensive human hunting in the early 16th century. In addition, our population viability analyses reveal that even if the great auk had not been under threat by environmental change, human hunting alone could have been sufficient to cause its extinction. Our results emphasise the vulnerability of even abundant and widespread species to intense and localised exploitation. Article in Journal/Newspaper Great auk North Atlantic Cardiff University: ORCA (Online Research @ Cardiff) eLife 8 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Cardiff University: ORCA (Online Research @ Cardiff) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivcardiff |
language |
English |
description |
The great auk was once abundant and distributed across the North Atlantic. It is now extinct, having been heavily exploited for its eggs, meat, and feathers. We investigated the impact of human hunting on its demise by integrating genetic data, GPS-based ocean current data, and analyses of population viability. We sequenced complete mitochondrial genomes of 41 individuals from across the species’ deographic range and reconstructed population structure and population dynamics throughout the Holocene. Taken together, our data do not provide any evidence that great auks were at risk of extinction prior to the onset of intensive human hunting in the early 16th century. In addition, our population viability analyses reveal that even if the great auk had not been under threat by environmental change, human hunting alone could have been sufficient to cause its extinction. Our results emphasise the vulnerability of even abundant and widespread species to intense and localised exploitation. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Thomas, Jessica E. Carvalho, Gary R. Haile, James Rawlence, Nicolas J. Martin, Michael D. Ho, Simon Y. W. Sigfusson, Arnór Þ. Josefsson, Vigfús A . Frederiksen, Morten Linnebjerg, Jannie F. Samaniego Castruita, Jose A. Niemann, Jonas Sinding, Mikkel-Holger S. Sandoval-Velasco, Marcela Soares, André E. R. Lacy, Robert Barilaro, Christina Best, Julia Brandis, Dirk Cavallo, Chiara Elorza, Mikelo Garrett, Kimball L. Groot, Maaike Johansson, Friederike Lifjeld, Jan T. Nilson, Göran Serjeantson, Dale Sweet, Paul Fuller, Eeeol Hufthammer, Anne Karin Meldgaard, Morten Fjeldsa, Jon Shapiro, Beth Hofreiter, Michael Stewart, John R. Gilbert, M. Thomas P. Knapp, Michael |
spellingShingle |
Thomas, Jessica E. Carvalho, Gary R. Haile, James Rawlence, Nicolas J. Martin, Michael D. Ho, Simon Y. W. Sigfusson, Arnór Þ. Josefsson, Vigfús A . Frederiksen, Morten Linnebjerg, Jannie F. Samaniego Castruita, Jose A. Niemann, Jonas Sinding, Mikkel-Holger S. Sandoval-Velasco, Marcela Soares, André E. R. Lacy, Robert Barilaro, Christina Best, Julia Brandis, Dirk Cavallo, Chiara Elorza, Mikelo Garrett, Kimball L. Groot, Maaike Johansson, Friederike Lifjeld, Jan T. Nilson, Göran Serjeantson, Dale Sweet, Paul Fuller, Eeeol Hufthammer, Anne Karin Meldgaard, Morten Fjeldsa, Jon Shapiro, Beth Hofreiter, Michael Stewart, John R. Gilbert, M. Thomas P. Knapp, Michael Demographic reconstruction from ancient DNA supports rapid extinction of the great auk |
author_facet |
Thomas, Jessica E. Carvalho, Gary R. Haile, James Rawlence, Nicolas J. Martin, Michael D. Ho, Simon Y. W. Sigfusson, Arnór Þ. Josefsson, Vigfús A . Frederiksen, Morten Linnebjerg, Jannie F. Samaniego Castruita, Jose A. Niemann, Jonas Sinding, Mikkel-Holger S. Sandoval-Velasco, Marcela Soares, André E. R. Lacy, Robert Barilaro, Christina Best, Julia Brandis, Dirk Cavallo, Chiara Elorza, Mikelo Garrett, Kimball L. Groot, Maaike Johansson, Friederike Lifjeld, Jan T. Nilson, Göran Serjeantson, Dale Sweet, Paul Fuller, Eeeol Hufthammer, Anne Karin Meldgaard, Morten Fjeldsa, Jon Shapiro, Beth Hofreiter, Michael Stewart, John R. Gilbert, M. Thomas P. Knapp, Michael |
author_sort |
Thomas, Jessica E. |
title |
Demographic reconstruction from ancient DNA supports rapid extinction of the great auk |
title_short |
Demographic reconstruction from ancient DNA supports rapid extinction of the great auk |
title_full |
Demographic reconstruction from ancient DNA supports rapid extinction of the great auk |
title_fullStr |
Demographic reconstruction from ancient DNA supports rapid extinction of the great auk |
title_full_unstemmed |
Demographic reconstruction from ancient DNA supports rapid extinction of the great auk |
title_sort |
demographic reconstruction from ancient dna supports rapid extinction of the great auk |
publisher |
eLife Sciences Publications |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/135612/ https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.47509 https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/135612/1/elife-47509-v1.pdf |
genre |
Great auk North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Great auk North Atlantic |
op_relation |
https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/135612/1/elife-47509-v1.pdf Thomas, Jessica E., Carvalho, Gary R., Haile, James, Rawlence, Nicolas J., Martin, Michael D., Ho, Simon Y. W., Sigfusson, Arnór Þ., Josefsson, Vigfús A ., Frederiksen, Morten, Linnebjerg, Jannie F., Samaniego Castruita, Jose A., Niemann, Jonas, Sinding, Mikkel-Holger S., Sandoval-Velasco, Marcela, Soares, André E. R., Lacy, Robert, Barilaro, Christina, Best, Julia https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/view/cardiffauthors/A2289046W.html orcid:0000-0002-8943-5427 orcid:0000-0002-8943-5427, Brandis, Dirk, Cavallo, Chiara, Elorza, Mikelo, Garrett, Kimball L., Groot, Maaike, Johansson, Friederike, Lifjeld, Jan T., Nilson, Göran, Serjeantson, Dale, Sweet, Paul, Fuller, Eeeol, Hufthammer, Anne Karin, Meldgaard, Morten, Fjeldsa, Jon, Shapiro, Beth, Hofreiter, Michael, Stewart, John R., Gilbert, M. Thomas P. and Knapp, Michael 2019. Demographic reconstruction from ancient DNA supports rapid extinction of the great auk. eLife 8 , e47509. 10.7554/eLife.47509 https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.47509 file https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/135612/1/elife-47509-v1.pdf doi:10.7554/eLife.47509 |
op_rights |
cc_by |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.47509 |
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eLife |
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8 |
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1766011028337852416 |