Evolutionary reconstruction supports the presence of a Pleistocene Arctic refugium for a large mammal species

• Published in: Journal of biogeography Vol. 44; no. 12; pp. 2729 - 2739
• Main Authors: Klütsch, Cornelya F. C., Manseau, Micheline, Anderson, Morgan, Sinkins, Peter, Wilson, Paul J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford John Wiley & Sons Ltd 01.12.2017; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: approximate Bayesian computation; Approximation; Archipelagoes; Arctic refugium; Arctic region; Bayesian analysis; Biological evolution; Climate change; Colonization; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Divergence; DNA; evolution; Evolutionary conservation; fauna; Flora; genetic markers; ice; Ice sheets; Islands; Mammals; microrefugia; microsatellite repeats; Microsatellites; Mitochondrial DNA; phylogeography; Physical characteristics; Pleistocene; Rangifer tarandus; Rangifer tarandus pearyi; refuge habitats; Refugia; Refugia and phylogeography; secondary contact; subspecies; Wildlife conservation; Wisconsin; Beringia; Arctic region; Wisconsin

Aim: The presence of refugia in the Canadian High Arctic has been subject to debate for decades. We investigated the potential existence of Arctic refugia during the Pleistocene for a large mammal species in the Canadian Archipelago because if these refugia were present, reconsideration of the evolu...