Brown bear (<i>Ursus arctos</i>) (9880 ± 35 BP) from late-glacial Champlain Sea deposits at Saint-Nicolas, Quebec, Canada, and the dispersal history of brown bears

Harington, C. R.; Cournoyer, Mario; Chartier, Michel; Fulton, Tara L.; Shapiro, Beth

doi:10.1139/cjes-2013-0220

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Similarly, we found that the 11.3 cal. ka BP (Harington et al 2014) brown bear bone recovered from Champlain Sea deposits in QuŽbec, Canada (Fig. 1) has at least 8.5% (Z=5.7) polar bear ancestry (supplementary Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To explore the geographic extent of potential admixture between brown bears and polar bears, we also extracted and analyzed DNA from an 11.3 cal. ka BP (Harington et al 2014) brown bear bone from the coast of the Champlain Sea in QuŽbec, Canada, and from two brown bears from the present-day population of Kunashir Island, in eastern Russia (Fig. 1).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Genomic Evidence of Widespread Admixture from Polar Bears into Brown Bears during the Last Ice Age

Cahill

Heintzman

Harris

et al. 2018

Molecular Biology and Evolution

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Recent genomic analyses have provided substantial evidence for past periods of gene flow from polar bears (Ursus maritimus) into Alaskan brown bears (Ursus arctos), with some analyses suggesting a link between climate change and genomic introgression. However, because it has mainly been possible to sample bears from the present day, the timing, frequency, and evolutionary significance of this admixture remains unknown. Here, we analyze genomic DNA from three additional and geographically distinct brown bear populations, including two that lived temporally close to the peak of the last ice age. We find evidence of admixture in all three populations, suggesting that admixture between these species has been common in their recent evolutionary history. In addition, analyses of ten fossil bears from the now-extinct Irish population indicate that admixture peaked during the last ice age, whereas brown bear and polar bear ranges overlapped. Following this peak, the proportion of polar bear ancestry in Irish brown bears declined rapidly until their extinction. Our results support a model in which ice age climate change created geographically widespread conditions conducive to admixture between polar bears and brown bears, as is again occurring today. We postulate that this model will be informative for many admixing species pairs impacted by climate change. Our results highlight the power of paleogenomics to reveal patterns of evolutionary change that are otherwise masked in contemporary data.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genomic Evidence of Widespread Admixture from Polar Bears into Brown Bears during the Last Ice Age

Cahill

Heintzman

Harris

et al. 2018

Molecular Biology and Evolution

Self Cite

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show abstract

“…ka BP (Harington et al 2014) brown bear bone recovered from Champlain Sea deposits in Quebec, Canada ( Fig. 1) has at least 8.5% (Z=5.7) polar bear ancestry (supplementary Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To explore the geographic extent of potential admixture between brown bears and polar bears, we also extracted and analyzed DNA from an 11.3 cal. ka BP (Harington et al 2014) brown bear bone from the coast of the Champlain Sea in Quebec, Canada, and from two bears from the present-day population of Kunashir Island, in eastern Russia ( Fig. 1).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genomic evidence of globally widespread admixture from polar bears into brown bears during the last ice age

Cahill

Heintzman

Harris

et al. 2017

Preprint

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Recent genomic analyses have provided substantial evidence for past periods of gene flow from polar bears (Ursus maritimus) into Alaskan brown bears (Ursus arctos), with some analyses suggesting a link between climate change and genomic introgression.However, because it has only been possible to sample bears from the present day, the timing, frequency, and evolutionary significance of this admixture remains unknown.Here, we analyze genomic DNA from three additional and geographically distinct brown bear populations, including two that lived temporally close to the peak of the last ice age.We find evidence of admixture in all three populations, suggesting that admixture between these species has been common in their recent evolutionary history. In addition, analyses of ten fossil bears from the now-extinct Irish population indicate that admixture peaked during the last ice age, when brown bear and polar bear ranges overlapped.Following this peak, the proportion of polar bear ancestry in Irish brown bears declined . CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a (which was not peer-reviewed) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.The copyright holder for this preprint . http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/154773 doi: bioRxiv preprint first posted online rapidly until their extinction. Our results support a model in which ice age climate change created geographically widespread conditions conducive to admixture between polar bears and brown bears, as is again occurring today. We postulate that this model will be informative for many admixing species pairs impacted by climate change. Our results highlight the power of paleogenomes to reveal patterns of evolutionary change that are otherwise masked with only contemporary data.

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“…Moreover, large-scale range expansion during glacial periods is evident in the fossil record of vertebrates in extra-Arctic regions [81]. For example, the post-glacial Champlain Sea (13-9 ka, [159]) of New York, Vermont, and Canada has well-studied Arctic vertebrate faunas that include whales, walruses, brown bears and seals [64,83]. Likewise, in coastal regions around Alaska, fossil records [31, 85] support molecular genetic data [23] showing that during the LGM, polar bears and ringed seals ranged as far south as the Gulf of Alaska, considerably south of their current Arctic ranges.…”

Section: Arctic Ocean Marine Mammalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological response to climate change in the Arctic Ocean: the view from the past

Cronin

2015

Arktos

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The Arctic Ocean is undergoing rapid climatic changes including higher ocean temperatures, reduced sea ice, glacier and Greenland Ice Sheet melting, greater marine productivity, and altered carbon cycling. Until recently, the relationship between climate and Arctic biological systems was poorly known, but this has changed substantially as advances in paleoclimatology, micropaleontology, vertebrate paleontology, and molecular genetics show that Arctic ecosystem history reflects global and regional climatic changes over all timescales and climate states (10 3 -10 7 years). Arctic climatic extremes include 25°C hyperthermal periods during the Paleocene-Eocene (56-46 million years ago, Ma), Quaternary glacial periods when thick ice shelves and sea ice cover rendered the Arctic Ocean nearly uninhabitable, seasonally sea-ice-free interglacials and abrupt climate reversals. Climate-driven biological impacts included large changes in species diversity, primary productivity, species' geographic range shifts into and out of the Arctic, community restructuring, and possible hybridization, but evidence is not sufficient to determine whether or when major episodes of extinction occurred.

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Brown bear (Ursus arctos) (9880 ± 35 BP) from late-glacial Champlain Sea deposits at Saint-Nicolas, Quebec, Canada, and the dispersal history of brown bears

Cited by 4 publications

References 26 publications

Genomic Evidence of Widespread Admixture from Polar Bears into Brown Bears during the Last Ice Age

Genomic Evidence of Widespread Admixture from Polar Bears into Brown Bears during the Last Ice Age

Genomic evidence of globally widespread admixture from polar bears into brown bears during the last ice age

Biological response to climate change in the Arctic Ocean: the view from the past

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