Ancient DNA reveals that bowhead whale lineages survived Late Pleistocene climate change and habitat shifts
The climatic changes of the glacial cycles are thought to have been a major driver ofpopulation declines and species extinctions. However, studies to date have focused onterrestrial fauna and there is little understanding of how marine species responded to pastclimate change. Here we show that a tru...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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Macmillan Publishers Limited
2013
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| Online Access: | http://www.nature.com/ncomms/journal/v4/n4/full/ncomms2714.html http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/26500 |
| _version_ | 1848752004213506048 |
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| author | Foote, A. Kaschner, K. Schultze, S. Garilao, C. Ho, S. Post, K. Higham, T. Stokowska, C. Van der Es, H. Embling, C. Gregersen, K. Johansson, F. Willerslev, E. Gilbert, Thomas |
| author_facet | Foote, A. Kaschner, K. Schultze, S. Garilao, C. Ho, S. Post, K. Higham, T. Stokowska, C. Van der Es, H. Embling, C. Gregersen, K. Johansson, F. Willerslev, E. Gilbert, Thomas |
| author_sort | Foote, A. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | The climatic changes of the glacial cycles are thought to have been a major driver ofpopulation declines and species extinctions. However, studies to date have focused onterrestrial fauna and there is little understanding of how marine species responded to pastclimate change. Here we show that a true Arctic species, the bowhead whale (Balaenamysticetus), shifted its range and tracked its core suitable habitat northwards during the rapidclimate change of the Pleistocene–Holocene transition. Late Pleistocene lineages survivedinto the Holocene and effective female population size increased rapidly, concurrent with athreefold increase in core suitable habitat. This study highlights that responses to climatechange are likely to be species specific and difficult to predict. We estimate that the coresuitable habitat of bowhead whales will be almost halved by the end of this century,potentially influencing future population dynamics. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:01:43Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-26500 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:01:43Z |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publisher | Macmillan Publishers Limited |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-265002017-02-28T01:50:24Z Ancient DNA reveals that bowhead whale lineages survived Late Pleistocene climate change and habitat shifts Foote, A. Kaschner, K. Schultze, S. Garilao, C. Ho, S. Post, K. Higham, T. Stokowska, C. Van der Es, H. Embling, C. Gregersen, K. Johansson, F. Willerslev, E. Gilbert, Thomas The climatic changes of the glacial cycles are thought to have been a major driver ofpopulation declines and species extinctions. However, studies to date have focused onterrestrial fauna and there is little understanding of how marine species responded to pastclimate change. Here we show that a true Arctic species, the bowhead whale (Balaenamysticetus), shifted its range and tracked its core suitable habitat northwards during the rapidclimate change of the Pleistocene–Holocene transition. Late Pleistocene lineages survivedinto the Holocene and effective female population size increased rapidly, concurrent with athreefold increase in core suitable habitat. This study highlights that responses to climatechange are likely to be species specific and difficult to predict. We estimate that the coresuitable habitat of bowhead whales will be almost halved by the end of this century,potentially influencing future population dynamics. 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/26500 http://www.nature.com/ncomms/journal/v4/n4/full/ncomms2714.html Macmillan Publishers Limited restricted |
| spellingShingle | Foote, A. Kaschner, K. Schultze, S. Garilao, C. Ho, S. Post, K. Higham, T. Stokowska, C. Van der Es, H. Embling, C. Gregersen, K. Johansson, F. Willerslev, E. Gilbert, Thomas Ancient DNA reveals that bowhead whale lineages survived Late Pleistocene climate change and habitat shifts |
| title | Ancient DNA reveals that bowhead whale lineages survived Late Pleistocene climate change and habitat shifts |
| title_full | Ancient DNA reveals that bowhead whale lineages survived Late Pleistocene climate change and habitat shifts |
| title_fullStr | Ancient DNA reveals that bowhead whale lineages survived Late Pleistocene climate change and habitat shifts |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ancient DNA reveals that bowhead whale lineages survived Late Pleistocene climate change and habitat shifts |
| title_short | Ancient DNA reveals that bowhead whale lineages survived Late Pleistocene climate change and habitat shifts |
| title_sort | ancient dna reveals that bowhead whale lineages survived late pleistocene climate change and habitat shifts |
| url | http://www.nature.com/ncomms/journal/v4/n4/full/ncomms2714.html http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/26500 |