Abstract
The relationship between population structure and demographic history is critical to understanding microevolution and for predicting the resilience of species to environmental change. Using mitochondrial DNA from extant colonies and radiocarbon-dated subfossils, we present the first microevolutionary analysis of emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) and show their population trends throughout the last glacial maximum (LGM, 19.5-16 kya) and during the subsequent period of warming and sea ice retreat. We found evidence for three mitochondrial clades within emperor penguins, suggesting that they were isolated within three glacial refugia during the LGM. One of these clades has remained largely isolated within the Ross Sea, while the two other clades have intermixed around the coast of Antarctica from Adélie Land to the Weddell Sea. The differentiation of the Ross Sea population has been preserved despite rapid population growth and opportunities for migration. Low effective population sizes during the LGM, followed by a rapid expansion around the beginning of the Holocene, suggest that an optimum set of sea ice conditions exist for emperor penguins, corresponding to available foraging area.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2215-2226 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Global Change Biology |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| Early online date | 1 Mar 2015 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 27 Apr 2015 |
Keywords
- Aptenodytes forsteri
- Antarctica
- Climate change ecology
- Molecular ecology
- Paleoecology
- Phylogeography
- Polynya
- Ross Sea
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Global and Planetary Change
- Environmental Chemistry
- Ecology
- General Environmental Science
Access to Document
- Younger_et-al_2015.pdf
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article:Younger, J. L., Clucas, G. V., Kooyman, G. , Wienecke, B. , Rogers, A. D., Trathan, P. N., Hart, T. and Miller, K. J. (2015), Too much of a good thing: sea ice extent may have forced emperor penguins into refugia during the last glacial maximum. Glob Change Biol, 21: 2215-2226, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12882. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.