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Limited phylogeographic structure and genetic variation in Alaska's arctic and alpine endemic, the Alaska marmot
- Source :
- Journal of Mammalogy; February 2012, Vol. 93 Issue: 1 p66-66, 1p
- Publication Year :
- 2012
-
Abstract
- Alpine and arctic environments are thought to be more vulnerable to climate change than other lower-elevation and lower-latitude regions. Being both arctic and alpine distributed, the Alaska marmot (Marmota broweri</it>) is uniquely suited to serve as a harbinger of the effects of climate change, yet it is the least-studied marmot species in North America. We investigated the phylogeography and genetic diversity of M. broweri</it> throughout its known distribution in northern Alaska using the mitochondrial cytochrome b</it> gene to better understand how post-Pleistocene changes and population fragmentation have structured genetic diversity. Our results show significant, although shallow, geographic structure among Alaska marmot populations. The diversity within and among populations is consistent with 2 phylogeographic hypotheses: Alaska marmots persisted in the eastern Brooks Range, Ray Mountains, and Kokrines Hills during the Pleistocene and have only recently expanded into the western Brooks Range; and the western Brooks Range served as a refugium as well and those populations have undergone a bottleneck resulting in reduced genetic variation in extant populations. Levels of mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid diversity are lower in M. broweri</it> than in any other codistributed small mammal species and alpine mammal species with comparable data available. This is the 1st phylogeographic study of any marmot species and provides a baseline measure of the current structure and diversity within M. broweri</it>.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00222372 and 15451542
- Volume :
- 93
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- Supplemental Index
- Journal :
- Journal of Mammalogy
- Publication Type :
- Periodical
- Accession number :
- ejs35348861
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1644/10-MAMM-A-380.1