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Professor Rus Hoelzel's Outputs (137)

Postglacial Recolonization of the Southern Ocean by Elephant Seals Occurred From Multiple Glacial Refugia (2025)
Journal Article
Berg, A. A., Askew, M., Seersholm, F. V., Verry, A. J. F., Hoelzel, A. R., Welch, A., Greig, K., Walter, R., Knapp, M., Barlow, A., Paijmans, J. L. A., Waters, J. M., Bunce, M., McDonald, K., O'Connor, S., Hall, B., Koch, P. L., Baroni, C., Salvatore, M. C., Faulkner, P., …de Bruyn, M. (2025). Postglacial Recolonization of the Southern Ocean by Elephant Seals Occurred From Multiple Glacial Refugia. Global Change Biology, 31(3), Article e70101. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70101

The Southern Ocean is warming more rapidly than other parts of our planet. How this region's endemic biodiversity will respond to such changes can be illuminated by studying past events through genetic analyses of time‐series data sets, including his... Read More about Postglacial Recolonization of the Southern Ocean by Elephant Seals Occurred From Multiple Glacial Refugia.

Intraspecific phenotypic differentiation by habitat depth in deep demersal fish species (2024)
Journal Article
Steeds, N., Zulqurnain, Z., Regnier, T., Gibb, F., Stirling, D., & Hoelzel, A. R. (2024). Intraspecific phenotypic differentiation by habitat depth in deep demersal fish species. Frontiers in Marine Science, 11, Article 1437952. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2024.1437952

Introduction: Ocean habitat characteristics change with depth. This is due to physical properties such as light, temperature and hydrostatic pressure, but also species community. In some cases, this generates a boundary (e.g. when light is lost in th... Read More about Intraspecific phenotypic differentiation by habitat depth in deep demersal fish species.

Genomics of post-bottleneck recovery in the northern elephant seal. (2024)
Journal Article
Hoelzel, A. R., Gkafas, G. A., Kang, H., Sarigol, F., Le Boeuf, B., Costa, D. P., …Li, S. (2024). Genomics of post-bottleneck recovery in the northern elephant seal. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 8, 686-694. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02337-4

Populations and species are threatened by human pressure, but their fate is variable. Some depleted populations, such as that of the northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris), recover rapidly even when the surviving population was small. The n... Read More about Genomics of post-bottleneck recovery in the northern elephant seal..

Ancient and modern DNA track temporal and spatial population dynamics in the European fallow deer since the Eemian interglacial (2024)
Journal Article
Baker, K. H., Gray, H. W. I., Lister, A. M., Spassov, N., Welch, A. J., Trantalidou, K., …Hoelzel, A. R. (2024). Ancient and modern DNA track temporal and spatial population dynamics in the European fallow deer since the Eemian interglacial. Scientific Reports, 14, Article 3015. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-48112-6

Anthropogenic factors have impacted the diversity and evolutionary trajectory of various species. This can be through factors such as pressure on population size or range, habitat fragmentation, or extensive manipulation and translocation. Here we us... Read More about Ancient and modern DNA track temporal and spatial population dynamics in the European fallow deer since the Eemian interglacial.

Kinship study reveals stable non-kin-based associations in a medium-sized delphinid (2023)
Journal Article
Hartman, K. L., Chen, I., van der Harst, P. A., Moura, A. E., Jahnke, M., Pilot, M., …Hoelzel, A. R. (2023). Kinship study reveals stable non-kin-based associations in a medium-sized delphinid. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 77(12), Article 137. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-023-03411-w

Delphinids display a wide variety of social structures, in which local food availability and defensibility, sexual size dimorphism and interbirth intervals ultimately influence the role of kin within social units. Earlier studies of the social ecolog... Read More about Kinship study reveals stable non-kin-based associations in a medium-sized delphinid.

Where to now with the evolutionarily significant unit? (2023)
Journal Article
Hoelzel, A. R. (2023). Where to now with the evolutionarily significant unit?. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 38(12), 1134-1142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2023.07.005

The designation of units for conservation has been a necessary but challenging objective since conservation efforts began. Most species are divided, typically by environment, into populations with independent evolutionary trajectories. There are prac... Read More about Where to now with the evolutionarily significant unit?.

Genomics reveals the role of admixture in the evolution of structure among sperm whale populations within the Mediterranean Sea (2023)
Journal Article
Violi, B., de Jong, M. J., Frantzis, A., Alexiadou, P., Tardy, C., Ody, D., de Stephanis, R., Giménez, J., Lucifora, G., e Silva, M. A., Oliveira, C., Alves, F., Dinis, A., Tejedor, M., Fernández, A., Arregui, M., Arbelo, M., Lopez, A., Covelo, P., & Hoelzel, A. R. (2023). Genomics reveals the role of admixture in the evolution of structure among sperm whale populations within the Mediterranean Sea. Molecular Ecology, 32(11), 2715-2731. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.16898

In oceanic ecosystems, the nature of barriers to gene flow and the processes by which populations may become isolated are different from the terrestrial environment, and less well understood. In this study we investigate a highly mobile species (the... Read More about Genomics reveals the role of admixture in the evolution of structure among sperm whale populations within the Mediterranean Sea.

Widespread southern elephant seal occupation of the Victoria land coast implies a warmer-than-present Ross Sea in the mid-to-late Holocene (2023)
Journal Article
Hall, B. L., Koch, P. L., Baroni, C., Salvatore, M. C., Hoelzel, A. R., de Bruyn, M., & Welch, A. J. (2023). Widespread southern elephant seal occupation of the Victoria land coast implies a warmer-than-present Ross Sea in the mid-to-late Holocene. Quaternary Science Reviews, 303, Article 107991. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2023.107991

Prediction of future ice-sheet behavior in Antarctica and its contribution to sea-level rise depends on accurate understanding of ice-sheet response to a warm climate. Examination of how the ice sheet reacted to past warm episodes affords a means of... Read More about Widespread southern elephant seal occupation of the Victoria land coast implies a warmer-than-present Ross Sea in the mid-to-late Holocene.

Strong and lasting impacts of past global warming on baleen whales and their prey (2022)
Journal Article
Cabrera, A. A., Schall, E., Bérubé, M., Anderwald, P., Bachmann, L., Berrow, S., Best, P. B., Clapham, P. J., Cunha, H., Dalla Rosa, L., Dias, C., Findlay, K., Haug, T., Heide‐Jørgensen, M. P., Hoelzel, A., Kovacs, K. M., Landry, S., Larsen, F., Lopes, X. M., Lydersen, C., …Palsbøll, P. J. (2022). Strong and lasting impacts of past global warming on baleen whales and their prey. Global Change Biology, 28(8), 2657-2677. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16085

Global warming is affecting the population dynamics and trophic interactions across a wide range of ecosystems and habitats. Translating these real-time effects into their long-term consequences remains a challenge. The rapid and extreme warming peri... Read More about Strong and lasting impacts of past global warming on baleen whales and their prey.

Museum specimens of a landlocked pinniped reveal recent loss of genetic diversity and unexpected population connections (2022)
Journal Article
Heino, M. T., Nyman, T., Palo, J. U., Harmoinen, J., Valtonen, M., Pilot, M., Översti, S., Salmela, E., Kunnasranta, M., Väinölä, R., Hoelzel, A. R., & Aspi, J. (2023). Museum specimens of a landlocked pinniped reveal recent loss of genetic diversity and unexpected population connections. Ecology and Evolution, 13(1), Article 9720. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9720

The Saimaa ringed seal (Pusa hispida saimensis) is endemic to Lake Saimaa in Finland. The subspecies is thought to have originated when parts of the ringed seal population of the Baltic region were trapped in lakes emerging due to postglacial bedrock... Read More about Museum specimens of a landlocked pinniped reveal recent loss of genetic diversity and unexpected population connections.

Evolutionary drivers of morphological differentiation among three bottlenose dolphin lineages, Tursiops spp. (Delphinidae), in the northwest Indian Ocean utilizing linear and geometric morphometric techniques (2021)
Journal Article
Gray, H., van Waerebeek, K., Owen, J., Collins, T., Minton, G., Ponnampalam, L., Willson, A., Baldwin, R., & Hoelzel, A. R. (2022). Evolutionary drivers of morphological differentiation among three bottlenose dolphin lineages, Tursiops spp. (Delphinidae), in the northwest Indian Ocean utilizing linear and geometric morphometric techniques. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 135(3), 610-629. https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blab133

Local adaptation and adaptive radiations are typically associated with phenotypic variation suited to alternative environments. In the marine environment, the nature of relevant ecological or environmental transitions is poorly understood, especially... Read More about Evolutionary drivers of morphological differentiation among three bottlenose dolphin lineages, Tursiops spp. (Delphinidae), in the northwest Indian Ocean utilizing linear and geometric morphometric techniques.

Comparative genomics provides insights into the aquatic adaptations of mammals (2021)
Journal Article
Yuan, Y., Zhang, Y., Zhang, P., Liu, C., Wang, J., Gao, H., Hoelzel, A. R., Seim, I., Lv, M., Lin, M., Dong, L., Gao, H., Yang, Z., Caruso, F., Lin, W., da Fonseca, R. R., Wang, D., Wang, X., Rasmussen, M. H., Liu, M., …Li, S. (2021). Comparative genomics provides insights into the aquatic adaptations of mammals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(37), Article e2106080118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2106080118

The ancestors of marine mammals once roamed the land and independently committed to an aquatic lifestyle. These macroevolutionary transitions have intrigued scientists for centuries. Here, we generated high-quality genome assemblies of 17 marine mamm... Read More about Comparative genomics provides insights into the aquatic adaptations of mammals.

Population structure associated with bioregion and seasonal prey distribution for Indo‐Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) in South Africa (2021)
Journal Article
Vargas‐Fonseca, O. A., Yates, P., Kirkman, S. P., Pistorius, P. A., Moore, D. M., Natoli, A., Cockcroft, V., & Hoelzel, A. R. (2021). Population structure associated with bioregion and seasonal prey distribution for Indo‐Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) in South Africa. Molecular Ecology, 30(19), 4642-4659. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.16086

Many marine species exhibit fine-scale population structure despite high mobility and a lack of physical barriers to dispersal, but the evolutionary drivers of differentiation in these systems are generally poorly understood. Here we investigate the... Read More about Population structure associated with bioregion and seasonal prey distribution for Indo‐Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) in South Africa.

Conservation genetics of the European fallow deer: a reply to Marchesini et al (2021)
Journal Article
Baker, K. H., Gray, H. W., Pekşen, Ç. A., & Hoelzel, A. R. (2021). Conservation genetics of the European fallow deer: a reply to Marchesini et al. Mammalian Biology, 101(3), 313-319. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42991-021-00121-6

In this letter, we revisit a study we published in 2017, following comment in a paper by Marchesini et al. published in this volume. We provide some further analyses that help us to reinforce the original conclusions of our earlier paper, and to addr... Read More about Conservation genetics of the European fallow deer: a reply to Marchesini et al.

Comparative biogeography and the evolution of population structure for bottlenose and common dolphins in the Indian Ocean (2021)
Journal Article
Gray, H. W., Chen, I., Moura, A. E., Natoli, A., Nishida, S., Tanabe, S., Minton, G., Ponnampalam, L. S., Kiani, M. S., Culloch, R., Gore, M., Särnblad, A., Amir, O., Berggren, P., Collins, T., Willson, A. J., Baldwin, R., & Hoelzel, A. R. (2021). Comparative biogeography and the evolution of population structure for bottlenose and common dolphins in the Indian Ocean. Journal of Biogeography, 48(7), https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.14102

Aim In the marine environment, where there are few physical boundaries to gene flow, there is often nevertheless intraspecific diversity with consequences for effective conservation and management. Here, we compare two closely related dolphin species... Read More about Comparative biogeography and the evolution of population structure for bottlenose and common dolphins in the Indian Ocean.

Marine mammal conservation: over the horizon (2021)
Journal Article
Nelms, S., Alfaro-Shigueto, J., Arnould, J., Avila, I., Bengtson Nash, S., Campbell, E., Carter, M., Collins, T., Currey, R., Domit, C., Franco-Trecu, V., Fuentes, M., Gilman, E., Harcourt, R., Hines, E., Hoelzel, A., Hooker, S., Johnston, D., Kelkar, N., Kiszka, J., …Godley, B. (2021). Marine mammal conservation: over the horizon. Endangered Species Research, 44, 291-325. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01115

Marine mammals can play important ecological roles in aquatic ecosystems, and their presence can be key to community structure and function. Consequently, marine mammals are often considered indicators of ecosystem health and flagship species. Yet, h... Read More about Marine mammal conservation: over the horizon.

Genomic signatures of divergent selection are associated with social behaviour for spinner dolphin ecotypes (2021)
Journal Article
Andrews, K. R., Epstein, B., Leslie, M. S., Fiedler, P., Morin, P. A., & Hoelzel, A. R. (2021). Genomic signatures of divergent selection are associated with social behaviour for spinner dolphin ecotypes. Molecular Ecology, 30(9), https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.15865

Understanding the genomic basis of adaptation is critical for understanding evolutionary processes and predicting how species will respond to environmental change. Spinner dolphins in the eastern tropical Pacific (ETP) present a unique system for stu... Read More about Genomic signatures of divergent selection are associated with social behaviour for spinner dolphin ecotypes.

Detecting genetic signals of selection in heavily bottlenecked reindeer populations by comparing parallel founder events (2021)
Journal Article
Jong, M. J., Lovatt, F., & Hoelzel, A. R. (2021). Detecting genetic signals of selection in heavily bottlenecked reindeer populations by comparing parallel founder events. Molecular Ecology, 30(7), https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.15837

Founder populations are of special interest to both evolutionary and conservation biologists, but the detection of genetic signals of selection in these populations is challenging due to their demographic history. Geographically separated founder pop... Read More about Detecting genetic signals of selection in heavily bottlenecked reindeer populations by comparing parallel founder events.