Genetic diversity of soil invertebrates corroborates timing estimates for past collapses of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet

During austral summer field seasons between 1999 and 2018, we sampled at 91 locations throughout southern Victoria Land and along the Transantarctic Mountains for six species of endemic microarthropods (Collembola), covering a latitudinal range from 76.0°S to 87.3°S. We assembled individual mitochon...

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Published inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 117; no. 36; pp. 22293 - 22302
Main Authors Collins, Gemma E., Hogg, Ian D., Convey, Peter, Sancho, Leopoldo G., Cowan, Don A., Lyons, W. Berry, Adams, Byron J., Wall, Diana H., Green, T. G. Allan
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Washington National Academy of Sciences 08.09.2020
Subjects
Biological Sciences
Climate change
Collembola
Cytochrome-c oxidase
Cytochromes
Dispersal
Dispersion
Divergence
Endemic species
Estimates
Evolution
Flotation
Genetic divergence
Genetic diversity
Genetic structure
Global warming
Ice sheets
Mitochondria
Mountains
Physical Sciences
Population genetics
Soil invertebrates
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Summary:During austral summer field seasons between 1999 and 2018, we sampled at 91 locations throughout southern Victoria Land and along the Transantarctic Mountains for six species of endemic microarthropods (Collembola), covering a latitudinal range from 76.0°S to 87.3°S. We assembled individual mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) sequences (n = 866) and found high levels of sequence divergence at both small (<10 km) and large (>600 km) spatial scales for four of the six Collembola species. We applied molecular clock estimates and assessed genetic divergences relative to the timing of past glacial cycles, including collapses of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). We found that genetically distinct lineages within three species have likely been isolated for at least 5.54 My to 3.52 My, while the other three species diverged more recently (<2 My). We suggest that Collembola had greater dispersal opportunities under past warmer climates, via flotation along coastal margins. Similarly increased opportunities for dispersal may occur under contemporary climate warming scenarios, which could influence the genetic structure of extant populations. As Collembola are a living record of past landscape evolution within Antarctica, these findings provide biological evidence to support geological and glaciological estimates of historical WAIS dynamics over the last ca. 5 My.
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Contributed by Diana H. Wall, July 3, 2020 (sent for review April 29, 2020; reviewed by Brenda Hall and Bettine Jansen van Vuuren)
Reviewers: B.H., University of Maine; and B.J.v.V., University of Johannesburg.
Author contributions: I.D.H., B.J.A., D.H.W., and T.G.A.G. designed research; G.E.C., I.D.H., L.G.S., D.A.C., W.B.L., B.J.A., D.H.W., and T.G.A.G. performed research; G.E.C., I.D.H., and B.J.A. analyzed data; and G.E.C., I.D.H., P.C., L.G.S., D.A.C., W.B.L., B.J.A., D.H.W., and T.G.A.G. wrote the paper.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.2007925117