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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Milk Collection Methods for Mice and Reeves' Muntjac Deer

Milk Collection Methods for Mice and Reeves' Muntjac Deer

Published on: July 19, 2014

Source-sink dynamics structure a common montane mammal.

Kim O'Keefe¹, Uma Ramakrishnan, Marcel VAN Tuinen

¹Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5020, USA. kokeefe@stanford.edu

Molecular Ecology

|October 30, 2009

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Ancient DNA reveals Uinta ground squirrel genetic diversity was shaped by both climate change and population ecology. Species

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Published on: March 13, 2011

Area of Science:

Evolutionary Biology
Population Genetics
Paleoecology

Background:

Understanding how evolutionary processes influence genetic diversity is key to predicting species' responses to climate change.
Population ecology factors like abundance and dispersal significantly impact genetic variation and structure over microevolutionary timescales.
Distinguishing climate-driven genetic changes from those caused by ecological factors is challenging.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the combined influence of Holocene climate change and population ecology on the genetic diversity of the Uinta ground squirrel (Spermophilus armatus).
To statistically assess alternative population histories using ancient DNA and simulation-based inference.

Main Methods:

Analysis of ancient DNA (aDNA) from modern and ancient Uinta ground squirrel populations spanning the last 3000 years.
Phylochronological examination of genetic diversity and structure across different elevations.
Serial coalescent simulations to compare likelihoods of various population history models.

Main Results:

Population genetic analyses indicated shifts in genetic diversity and structure coinciding with the Medieval Warm Period (MWP).
Source-sink models, featuring large, mid-elevation populations with high gene flow and smaller populations at extremes, best explained the observed genetic data.
While the MWP likely reduced genetic diversity, it did not significantly alter genetic structure compared to other tested models.

Conclusions:

Species' ecological characteristics are crucial for understanding their adaptive responses to climate change.
Ancient genetic data combined with simulation-based inference effectively disentangles the roles of ecological and climatic factors in shaping genetic diversity.
The study highlights the importance of integrating population ecology into evolutionary studies of climate change impacts.