The impact of past climate change on genetic variation and population connectivity in the Icelandic arctic fox

Mellows, Andrew; Barnett, Ross; Dalén, Love; Sandoval-Castellanos, Edson; Linderholm, Anna; McGovern, Thomas H.; Church, Mike J.; Larson, Greger

Abstract

Previous studies have suggested that the presence of sea ice is an important factor in facilitating migration and determining the degree of genetic isolation among contemporary arctic fox populations. Because the extent of sea ice is dependent upon global temperatures, periods of significant cooling would have had a major impact on fox population connectivity and genetic variation. We tested this hypothesis by extracting and sequencing mitochondrial control region sequences from 17 arctic foxes excavated from two late 9th-12th century AD archaeological sites in northeast Iceland, both of which predate the Little Ice Age (~16th-19th century). Despite the fact that five haplotypes have been observed in modern Icelandic foxes, a single haplotype was shared among all of the ancient individuals. Results from simulations within an approximate Bayesian computation framework suggest that the rapid increase in Icelandic arctic fox haplotype diversity can only be explained by sea ice-mediated fox immigration facilitated by the Little Ice Age.

Citation

Mellows, A., Barnett, R., Dalén, L., Sandoval-Castellanos, E., Linderholm, A., McGovern, T. H., Church, M. J., & Larson, G. (2012). The impact of past climate change on genetic variation and population connectivity in the Icelandic arctic fox. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 279(1747), 4568-4573. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.1796

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Sep 12, 2012
• Publication Date: Nov 22, 2012
• Deposit Date: Sep 10, 2012
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 11, 2012
• Journal: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
• Print ISSN: 0962-8452
• Electronic ISSN: 1471-2954
• Publisher: The Royal Society
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 279
• Issue: 1747
• Pages: 4568-4573
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.1796
• Keywords: Island biogeography, Phylogeography, Ancient DNA, Approximate Bayesian computation.
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1496659