Too much of a good thing: sea ice extent may have forced emperor penguins into refugia during the last glacial maximum
The relationship between population structure and demographic history is critical to understanding microevolution and for predicting the resilience of species to environmental change. Using mitochondrial DNA from extant colonies and radiocarbon-dated subfossils, we present the first microevolutionar...
| Published in: | Global Change Biology |
|---|---|
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
2015
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12882 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25728986 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/105756 |
| Summary: | The relationship between population structure and demographic history is critical to understanding microevolution and for predicting the resilience of species to environmental change. Using mitochondrial DNA from extant colonies and radiocarbon-dated subfossils, we present the first microevolutionary analysis of emperor penguins ( Aptenodytes forsteri ) and show their population trends throughout the last glacial maximum (LGM, 19.516 kya) and during the subsequent period of warming and sea ice retreat. We found evidence for three mitochondrial clades within emperor penguins, suggesting that they were isolated within three glacial refugia during the LGM. One of these clades has remained largely isolated within the Ross Sea, while the two other clades have intermixed around the coast of Antarctica from Adlie Land to the Weddell Sea. The differentiation of the Ross Sea population has been preserved despite rapid population growth and opportunities for migration. Low effective population sizes during the LGM, followed by a rapid expansion around the beginning of the Holocene, suggest that an optimum set of sea ice conditions exist for emperor penguins, corresponding to available foraging area. |
|---|