Fennoscandia probably constitutes one of the best places on earth to study faunal history. During the height of the most recent glacial period Fennoscandia was completely covered with ice. Thus, the majority of extant species must originate from ancestors who survived the latest glaciation in non-glaciated areas outside Fennoscandia. Moreover, the geography and geological history of Fennoscandia suggests that post-glacial recolonization by land mammals must have been restricted to specific routes in time and space. Phylogeographic surveys of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation in Fennoscandian rodents have demonstrated that glacial history and patterns of post-glacial colonization have played a major role in shaping present day patterns of genetic differentiation within species. Thus, the genetic imprints of historical demographic conditions and vicariant geographic events have been retained within species and can be used to infer the history of populations. The field vole (Microtus agrestis) is used to illustrate these data and processes. Comparisons are made with phylogeographic surveys of the bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus), the eastern house mouse (Mus musculus) and the wood lemming (Myopus schisticolor) as well as a few other species for which less extensive studies have been performed. The main patterns of post-glacial colonization of Fennoscandia by rodents are described. The effects of timing and patterns of colonization on contemporary population genetic structure and levels of genetic variation are discussed. Specifically, the effects of hybridization and introgression as well as founder events and bottlenecks are explored.
Genetic structuring of plant populations is strongly influenced by both common ancestry and current patterns of interpopulation genetic exchange. The interaction of these two fo...
Patterns of restriction site variation within mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of 270 individuals were used to examine the current structure of savanna elephant populations and to infe...
Abstract Nonrandom associations of alleles or haplotypes with geographical location can arise from restricted gene flow, historical events (fragmentation, range expansion, colon...
Abstract The grey wolf ( Canis lupus ) and coyote ( C. latrans ) are highly mobile carnivores that disperse over great distances in search of territories and mates. Previous gen...
Since the 1920s, population geneticists have had measures that describe how genetic variation is distributed spatially within a species’ geographical range. Modern genetic surve...
Social media, news, blog, policy document mentions