RT Journal Article
T1 Surprising migration and population size dynamicsin ancient Iberian brown bears (Ursus arctos)
A1 Valdiosera Morales, Cristina
A1 García Garitagoitia, José Luis
A1 García García, Nuria
A1 Doabrio Villarejo, Ignacio
A1 Thomas, Mark G.
A1 Hänni, Catherine
A1 Arsuaga, Juan Luis
A1 Barnes, Ian
A1 Hofreiter, Michael
A1 Orlando, Ludovic
A1 Götherström, Anders
AB The endangered brown bear populations (Ursus arctos) in Iberiahave been suggested to be the last fragments of the brown bearpopulation that served as recolonization stock for large parts ofEurope during the Pleistocene. Conservation efforts are intense,and results are closely monitored. However, the efforts are basedon the assumption that the Iberian bears are a unique unit that hasevolved locally for an extended period. We have sequenced mitochondrialDNA (mtDNA) from ancient Iberian bear remains andanalyzed them as a serial dataset, monitoring changes in diversityand occurrence of European haplogroups over time. Using thesedata, we show that the Iberian bear population has experienced adynamic, recent evolutionary history. Not only has the populationundergone mitochondrial gene flow from other European brownbears, but the effective population size also has fluctuated substantially.We conclude that the Iberian bear population has beena fluid evolutionary unit, developed by gene flow from otherpopulations and population bottlenecks, far from being in geneticequilibrium or isolated from other brown bear populations. Thus,the current situation is highly unusual and the population may infact be isolated for the first time in its history.
PB National Academy of Sciences
SN 0027-8424
YR 2008
FD 2008
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/49568
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/49568
LA eng
DS Docta Complutense
RD 27 abr 2024