6533b82dfe1ef96bd1291edb

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Evidence for cryptic glacial refugia from North American mountain sheep mitochondrial DNA

Dw ColtmanK. WorleyJohn LoehrAlessandro GrapputoAlasdair M. VeitchJ. Carey

subject

CanadaMitochondrial DNAClimateAnimals WildEnvironmentBiologyDNA MitochondrialBeringiaMountain sheepEvolution Molecularcvg.developerGenetic variationAnimalsIce CoverGlacial periodcvgEcology Evolution Behavior and SystematicsgeographyGenetic diversitySheepgeography.geographical_feature_categoryModels GeneticEcologyAltitudeGenetic VariationGlacierNorth AmericaIce sheet

description

The separation of populations by ice sheets into large refugia can account for much of the genetic diversity found in present day populations. The evolutionary implications of small glacial refugia have not been as thoroughly explored. To examine refugial origins of North American mountain sheep Ovis spp., we analyzed a 604 bp portion of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region from 223 O. dalli and O. canadensis. Major refugia were identified in eastern Beringia and southern North America, and we found evidence for two smaller refugia situated between the Laurentide and Cordilleran glaciers. Our results are the first to demonstrate support for survival of any organism in the latter two refugia. These refugia also appear to have conserved a genetic signal that confirms past hybridization of O. dalli and O. canadensis.

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2006-04-08Journal of Evolutionary Biology
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1420-9101.2005.01027.x