Killer whale nuclear genome and mtDNA reveal widespread population bottleneck during the last glacial maximum

dc.contributor.authorMoura, Andre E.
dc.contributor.authorJanse van Rensburg, Charlene
dc.contributor.authorPilot, Malgorzata
dc.contributor.authorTehrani, Arman
dc.contributor.authorBest, Peter B.
dc.contributor.authorThornton, Meredith
dc.contributor.authorPlön, Stephanie
dc.contributor.authorDe Bruyn, P.J. Nico
dc.contributor.authorWorley, Kim C.
dc.contributor.authorGibbs, Richard A.
dc.contributor.authorDahlheim, Marilyn E.
dc.contributor.authorHoelzel, A. Rus
dc.date.accessioned2014-10-07T11:56:54Z
dc.date.available2014-10-07T11:56:54Z
dc.date.issued2014-05
dc.description.abstractEcosystem function and resilience is determined by the interactions and independent contributions of individual species. Apex predators play a disproportionately determinant role through their influence and dependence on the dynamics of prey species. Their demographic fluctuations are thus likely to reflect changes in their respective ecological communities and habitat. Here, we investigate the historical population dynamics of the killer whale based on draft nuclear genome data for the Northern Hemisphere and mtDNA data worldwide. We infer a relatively stable population size throughout most of the Pleistocene, followed by an order of magnitude decline and bottleneck during the Weichselian glacial period. Global mtDNA data indicate that while most populations declined, at least one population retained diversity in a stable, productive ecosystem off southern Africa. We conclude that environmental changes during the last glacial period promoted the decline of a top ocean predator, that these events contributed to the pattern of diversity among extant populations, and that the relatively high diversity of a population currently in productive, stable habitat off South Africa suggests a role for ocean productivity in the widespread decline.en_US
dc.description.librarianhb2014en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipNatural Environment Research Council UK (grant number NE/014443/1 to A.R.H), South African National Research Foundation's Thuthuka programme, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health grant number U54 HG003273 (to R.A.G) and Danish Basic Research Foundation grant DNF94.en_US
dc.description.urihttp://mbe.oxfordjournals.orgen_US
dc.identifier.citationMoura, AE, Van Rensburg, CJ, Pilot, M, Tehrani, A, Best, PB, Thornton, M, Plön, S, De Bruyn, PJN, Worley, KC, Gibbs, RA, Dahlheim, ME & Hoelzel, AR 2014, 'Killer whale nuclear genome and mtDNA reveal widespread population bottleneck during the last glacial maximum', Molecular Biology and Evolution, vol. 31, no. 5, pp. 1121-1131.en_US
dc.identifier.issn0737-4038 (print)
dc.identifier.issn1537-1719 (online)
dc.identifier.other10.1093/molbev/msu058
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/42277
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherOxford University Pressen_US
dc.rights© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).en_US
dc.subjectGenomicsen_US
dc.subjectDemographicsen_US
dc.subjectCetaceaen_US
dc.subjectPopulation bottlenecken_US
dc.titleKiller whale nuclear genome and mtDNA reveal widespread population bottleneck during the last glacial maximumen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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