TY - JOUR
T1 - Influence of ancient glacial periods on the Andean fauna
T2 - The case of the pampas cat (Leopardus colocolo)
AU - Cossíos, Daniel
AU - Lucherini, Mauro
AU - Ruiz-García, Manuel
AU - Angers, Bernard
N1 - Funding Information:
Samples were generously provided by Susan Walker, Fernando Alfaro, Gio-vanna Gallardo, Rocío Palacios, Claudia Manfredi, Pablo Perovic, Lilian Vil-lalba, Never Bonino, Victor Pacheco, Ursula Fajardo, Analí Madrid and José Luis Condori. We also would like to thank Mathieu Alday, Michelle Pelle-tier, Philippe Girard, Rachel Massicotte, Frederic Cyr, Claude-Olivier Silva-Beaudry, Émilie Castonguay, Joelle Boizard, Marie-Claire Binet and Juan Repucci, for their help during this project and to the Peruvian National Institute of Natural Resources – INRENA for research permits (N°13-2007) and institutional support. This work was supported by grants from Wildlife Conservation Network and the Panthera/Wildlife Conservation Society Kaplan Awards Program. Field collection of Argentine samples was supported by BP Conservation Programme, Whitley Fund for Nature, Wildlife Conservation Network and Darwin Initiative.
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - Background. While numerous studies revealed the major role of environmental changes of the Quaternary on the evolution of biodiversity, research on the influence of that period on current South-American fauna is scarce and have usually focused on lowland regions. In this study, the genetic structure of the pampas cat (Leopardus colocolo), a widely distributed felid, was determined and linked to ancient climate fluctuations on the Andean region. Results. Using both mitochondrial sequences and nuclear microsatellites, we inferred the existence of at least four groups of populations in the central Andes, while other three localities, with little sample sizes (n = 3), presented differences in only one of these markers. The distribution of these groups is correlated to latitude, with a central area characterized by admixture of numerous mitochondrial clades. This suggests colonization from at least three glacial refuges and a contact zone between 20 degrees and 23 degrees S following a glaciation event. The similar coalescence times of the mitochondrial haplotypes indicated that the major clades split approximately one million years ago, likely during the Pre-Pastonian glacial period (0.80 1.30 MYA), followed by a demographic expansion in every clade during the Aftonian interglacial period (0.45 0.62 MYA). Interestingly, this structure roughly corresponds to the current recognised distribution of morphological subspecies. Conclusion. The four groups of populations identified here must be considered different management units, and we propose the three localities showing differences in only mtDNA or ncDNA as provisional management units. The results revealed the influence of ancient climate fluctuations on the evolutionary history of this species. It is expected that the other species of land vertebrates with a smaller or similar mobility have been affected in the same manner by the glacial and interglacial periods in the central Andes.
AB - Background. While numerous studies revealed the major role of environmental changes of the Quaternary on the evolution of biodiversity, research on the influence of that period on current South-American fauna is scarce and have usually focused on lowland regions. In this study, the genetic structure of the pampas cat (Leopardus colocolo), a widely distributed felid, was determined and linked to ancient climate fluctuations on the Andean region. Results. Using both mitochondrial sequences and nuclear microsatellites, we inferred the existence of at least four groups of populations in the central Andes, while other three localities, with little sample sizes (n = 3), presented differences in only one of these markers. The distribution of these groups is correlated to latitude, with a central area characterized by admixture of numerous mitochondrial clades. This suggests colonization from at least three glacial refuges and a contact zone between 20 degrees and 23 degrees S following a glaciation event. The similar coalescence times of the mitochondrial haplotypes indicated that the major clades split approximately one million years ago, likely during the Pre-Pastonian glacial period (0.80 1.30 MYA), followed by a demographic expansion in every clade during the Aftonian interglacial period (0.45 0.62 MYA). Interestingly, this structure roughly corresponds to the current recognised distribution of morphological subspecies. Conclusion. The four groups of populations identified here must be considered different management units, and we propose the three localities showing differences in only mtDNA or ncDNA as provisional management units. The results revealed the influence of ancient climate fluctuations on the evolutionary history of this species. It is expected that the other species of land vertebrates with a smaller or similar mobility have been affected in the same manner by the glacial and interglacial periods in the central Andes.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=64549147435&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/1471-2148-9-68
DO - 10.1186/1471-2148-9-68
M3 - Article
C2 - 19331650
AN - SCOPUS:64549147435
SN - 1471-2148
VL - 9
JO - BMC Evolutionary Biology
JF - BMC Evolutionary Biology
IS - 1
M1 - 68
ER -
