Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Marta Maria Ciucani, Julie Kragmose Jensen, Mikkel-Holger S. Sinding, Oliver Smith, Saverio Bartolini Lucenti, Erika Rosengren, Lorenzo Rook, Caterinella Tuveri, Marisa Arca, Enrico Cappellini, Marco Galaverni, Ettore Randi, Chunxue Guo, Guojie Zhang, Thomas Sicheritz-Ponten, Love Dalen, M. Thomas P. Gilbert, Shyam Gopalakrishnan
Summary: The Sardinian dhole was an iconic and unique canid species that became extinct at the end of the Late Pleistocene. Genome sequencing revealed that it represents a separate taxon from all other living canids and its lineage diverged from the Asian dhole approximately 885 ka. Historical gene flow between the Sardinian and Asian dhole lineages was detected, which ended around 500-300 ka.
Article
Biology
Jiaming Hu, Michael V. Westbury, Junxia Yuan, Zhen Zhang, Shungang Chen, Bo Xiao, Xindong Hou, Hailong Ji, Xulong Lai, Michael Hofreiter, Guilian Sheng
Summary: Cave hyenas, extinct bone-cracking carnivores from the family Hyaenidae, were widespread across Eurasia during the Pleistocene and became extinct at the end of the Late Pleistocene. A study of two cave hyena fossils from northeastern China suggests a split of the Asian cave hyena mitochondrial lineage from their European and African relatives around 1.85 million years ago, in line with the earliest Crocuta fossil dating to approximately 2 million years ago. Comparisons of genetic diversity indicate cave hyenas had higher diversity than extant species, likely due to non-monophyletic lineages. The joint female effective population size of Crocuta experienced declines during the Late Pleistocene.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sina Baleka, Victoria L. Herridge, Giulio Catalano, Adrian M. Lister, Marc R. Dickinson, Carolina Di Patti, Axel Barlow, Kirsty E. H. Penkman, Michael Hofreiter, Johanna L. A. Paijmans
Summary: This study investigates the dwarfing rate of an extinct Mediterranean dwarf elephant and shows that the Sicilian elephant lineage evolved from one of the largest terrestrial mammals to an island species weighing less than 20% of its original mass. The combination of ancient DNA with paleontological and geochronological evidence provides a more accurate timing of phenotypic changes.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Fedor S. Sharko, Eugenia S. Boulygina, Svetlana V. Tsygankova, Natalia V. Slobodova, Dmitry A. Alekseev, Anna A. Krasivskaya, Sergey M. Rastorguev, Alexei N. Tikhonov, Artem V. Nedoluzhko
Summary: Anthropogenic activity is identified as a major cause of animal extinction, with the Steller's sea cow being hunted to extinction in the 18th century. New research reveals that the extinction of this species began earlier than previously thought.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Biology
Dmitry Gimranov, Herve Bocherens, Nadja Kavcik-Graumann, Doris Nagel, Gernot Rabeder
Summary: Based on morphological and metric analyses, the study found that the small-sized cave bears in Imanay Cave share great similarities with fossils from Kizel Cave in the Ural Mountains and small-bodied cave bears in the Alps. Compared with the fossils from the Ural Mountains, the teeth and metapodial bones of Imanay Cave bears are smaller but show a higher evolutionary level. Preliminary stable isotope analysis indicates that the small cave bears in Imanay Cave were herbivorous.
HISTORICAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Ming-Shan Wang, Gemma G. R. Murray, Daniel Mann, Pamela Groves, Alisa O. Vershinina, Megan A. Supple, Joshua D. Kapp, Russell Corbett-Detig, Sarah E. Crump, Ian Stirling, Kristin L. Laidre, Michael Kunz, Love Dalen, Richard E. Green, Beth Shapiro
Summary: This study reveals a massive admixture event between polar bears and brown bears approximately 100,000 years ago, during a period of climate change-induced overlap in their ranges. The gene flow was largely unidirectional, with polar bear genes being incorporated into the genomes of brown bears. These findings highlight the complex reticulate paths that evolution can take within a regime of radically shifting climate.
NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Natalya E. Prilepskaya, Olga P. Bachura, Gennady F. Baryshnikov
Summary: This study used cementum and dentine increment analysis to investigate the remains of cave bears from European Russia, the Urals and the Caucasus. The results showed that the majority of the cave bear remains belonged to adult and old animals, and the damage to dental crowns may be related to age, conflict between males, and food abrasion. Furthermore, the increment analysis indicated that the cave bears visited the caves year-round. These findings raise new questions in the study of the ecology of cave bears.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Elisabeth Hempel, Faysal Bibi, J. Tyler Faith, James S. Brink, Daniela C. Kalthoff, Pepijn Kamminga, Johanna L. A. Paijmans, Michael V. Westbury, Michael Hofreiter, Frank E. Zachos
Summary: The blue antelope, a native species of southern Africa, is the only large African mammal known to have become extinct in historical times, with limited information available due to poor documentation before its extinction. Genetic information retrieved from museum specimens helped to clarify their identification, revealing a lower number of true historical specimens than previously thought. The study also suggests low levels of maternal genetic diversity in the museum population, indicating a small blue antelope population at the time of European colonization of South Africa.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Benjamin Vernot, Elena Zavala, Asier Gomez-Olivencia, Zenobia Jacobs, Viviane Slon, Fabrizio Mafessoni, Frederic Romagne, Alice Pearson, Martin Petr, Nohemi Sala, Adrian Pablos, Arantza Aranburu, Jose Maria Bermudez de Castro, Eudald Carbonell, Bo Li, Maciej T. Krajcarz, Andrey Krivoshapkin, Kseniya A. Kolobova, Maxim B. Kozlikin, Michael Shunkov, Anatoly P. Derevianko, Bence Viola, Steffi Grote, Elena Essel, David Lopez Herraez, Sarah Nagel, Birgit Nickel, Julia Richter, Anna Schmidt, Benjamin Peter, Janet Kelso, Richard G. Roberts, Juan-Luis Arsuaga, Matthias Meyer
Summary: This study demonstrates the importance of using nuclear DNA extracted from sediments for studying the population history of ancient hominins. Population replacement in northern Spain and radiation events in Neanderthal history during the Late Pleistocene were identified through analysis of cave deposits in western Europe and southern Siberia.
Article
Geography, Physical
Matti E. Rasanen, Jaakko Auri, Juha Ovaskainen
Summary: The study revises the existing stratigraphic records in central and eastern Fennoscandia, revealing a more complete and extended palaeoenvironmental history than previously thought. The findings suggest the presence of birch forest tundra during certain warm intervals, challenging the previous assumption of boreal pine forests in the region. Additional research is needed to further explore the warm periods and sedimentary records during the Middle Weichselian in the studied area.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Eslem Ben Arous, Anne Philippe, Qingfeng Shao, Daniel Richter, Arnaud Lenoble, Norbert Mercier, Mailys Richard, Emmanuelle Stoetzel, Olivier Tombret, Mohamed Abdeljalil El Hajraoui, Roland Nespoulet, Christophe Falgueres
Summary: El Mnasra Cave in Morocco is an important archaeological site for studying the development of early Homo sapiens. New trapped-charges dates suggest a human presence in the cave earlier than previously thought, and the age of the largest record of Nassariidae perforated shells has been pushed back. This research provides valuable insights into the cognitive abilities and behavioral innovations of early humans.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Helen Fewlass, Elena I. Zavala, Yoann Fagault, Thibaut Tuna, Edouard Bard, Jean-Jacques Hublin, Mateja Hajdinjak, Jaroslaw Wilczyn
Summary: This study utilized dating and genetic analyses to confirm that six infant human teeth and 112 animal tooth pendants from Borsuka Cave are the oldest burial in Poland. The results demonstrate a Paleolithic origin for the remains and offer insights into the association between the assemblage and different Paleolithic industries.
Article
Geography, Physical
Simon G. Lewis, Nick Ashton, Rob Davis, Marcus Hatch, Peter G. Hoare, Pierre Voinchet, Jean-Jacques Bahain
Summary: The Bytham River in eastern England, a major pre-Anglian river, can be identified by its distinctive lithological suite at 26 sites. The Ingham Formation consists of sand and gravel aggradations representing at least four early Middle Pleistocene terrace remnants of the former river. The lowest and youngest of these aggradations are early Anglian in age, with subsequent overrun by Anglian ice during Marine Isotope Stage 12.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Anthropology
Florent Rivals, Ruth Blasco, Jordi Rosell, Bar Efrati, Avi Gopher, Ran Barkai
Summary: This study investigates the seasonality and duration of occupation in specific archaeological contexts at late Lower Palaeolithic Qesem Cave, based on the analysis of ungulate teeth. The research suggests that human groups inhabited the cave for a long period, utilizing specific hunting grounds and allocating different game to designated activity areas at the cave based on the environment and their needs. The data indicate strategic hunting and resource management by these early inhabitants, allowing them to persistently use the cave for prolonged periods throughout the year.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Odbayar Tumendemberel, Sarah A. Hendricks, Paul A. Hohenlohe, Jack Sullivan, Andreas Zedrosser, Mona Saebo, Michael F. Proctor, John L. Koprowski, Lisette P. Waits
Summary: Phylogeographic studies using whole-genome sequencing reveal the genetic differentiation and evolutionary history of brown bears worldwide, providing crucial insights for conservation. The study identified unique evolutionary lineages of brown bears in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia and the Himalayas of Pakistan, which showed low genetic diversity and high levels of inbreeding. Furthermore, the effective population size of brown bears has been decreasing over the past 70,000 years. These findings confirm the importance of conserving the genetically distinct and ancient brown bear subspecies in these regions.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mathieu Robin, Giada Ferrari, Gulfirde Akgul, Xenia Munger, Johanna von Seth, Verena J. Schuenemann, Love Dalen, Christine Grossen
Summary: Population bottlenecks have significant effects on the health and long-term survival of a species. Integrating genomic data of ancient, historic, and extant populations can reveal the evolution of genetic diversity through population fluctuations.
Article
Geography, Physical
Maria Lucena-Perez, Enrico Bazzicalupo, Johanna Paijmans, Daniel Kleinman-Ruiz, Love Dalen, Michael Hofreiter, Miguel Delibes, Miguel Clavero, Jose A. Godoy
Summary: This study analyzes the genome of a Eurasian lynx population inhabiting the Iberian Peninsula and identifies it as an extinct European lineage closely related to the current Carpathian-Baltic lineages. The population shows low genetic diversity, similar to the highly endangered Iberian lynx. Historical factors and human impacts may have contributed to the genetic impoverishment and extinction of the population.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2022)
Editorial Material
Genetics & Heredity
Nicolas Dussex, Bruce C. Robertson, Love Dalen, Erich D. Jarvis
TRENDS IN GENETICS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Anders Bergstrom, David W. G. Stanton, Ulrike H. Taron, Laurent Frantz, Mikkel-Holger S. Sinding, Erik Ersmark, Saskia Pfrengle, Molly Cassatt-Johnstone, Ophelie Lebrasseur, Linus Girdland-Flink, Daniel M. Fernandes, Morgane Ollivier, Leo Speidel, Shyam Gopalakrishnan, Michael V. Westbury, Jazmin Ramos-Madrigal, Tatiana R. Feuerborn, Ella Reiter, Joscha Gretzinger, Susanne C. Muenzel, Pooja Swali, Nicholas J. Conard, Christian Caroe, James Haile, Anna Linderholm, Semyon Androsov, Ian Barnes, Chris Baumann, Norbert Benecke, Herve Bocherens, Selina Brace, Ruth F. Carden, Dorothee G. Drucker, Sergey Fedorov, Mihaly Gasparik, Mietje Germonpre, Semyon Grigoriev, Pam Groves, Stefan T. Hertwig, Varvara V. Ivanova, Luc Janssens, Richard P. Jennings, Aleksei K. Kasparov, Irina V. Kirillova, Islam Kurmaniyazov, Yaroslav V. Kuzmin, Pavel A. Kosintsev, Martina Laznickova-Galetova, Charlotte Leduc, Pavel Nikolskiy, Marc Nussbaumer, Coilin O'Drisceoil, Ludovic Orlando, Alan Outram, Elena Y. Pavlova, Angela R. Perri, Malgorzata Pilot, Vladimir V. Pitulko, Valerii V. Plotnikov, Albert V. Protopopov, Andre Rehazek, Mikhail Sablin, Andaine Seguin-Orlando, Jan Stora, Christian Verjux, Victor F. Zaibert, Grant Zazula, Philippe Crombe, Anders J. Hansen, Eske Willerslev, Jennifer A. Leonard, Anders Gotherstrom, Ron Pinhasi, Verena J. Schuenemann, Michael Hofreiter, M. Thomas P. Gilbert, Beth Shapiro, Greger Larson, Johannes Krause, Love Dalen, Pontus Skoglund
Summary: This article analyzes ancient wolf genomes and finds that wolf populations were highly connected in the late Pleistocene, suggesting a complex history of wolf domestication. Dogs are overall more closely related to ancient wolves from eastern Eurasia, but dogs in the Near East and Africa derive up to half of their ancestry from a distinct population related to modern southwest Eurasian wolves.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yue-Chen Liu, Rosalind Hunter-Anderson, Olivia Cheronet, Joanne Eakin, Frank Camacho, Michael Pietrusewsky, Nadin Rohland, Alexander Ioannidis, J. Stephen Athens, Michele Toomay Douglas, Rona Michi Ikehara-Quebral, Rebecca Bernardos, Brendan J. Culleton, Matthew Mah, Nicole Adamski, Nasreen Broomandkhoshbacht, Kimberly Callan, Ann Marie Lawson, Kirsten Mandl, Megan Michel, Jonas Oppenheimer, Kristin Stewardson, Fatma Zalzala, Kenneth Kidd, Judith Kidd, Theodore G. Schurr, Kathryn Auckland, Adrian V. S. Hill, Alexander J. Mentzer, Consuelo D. Quinto-Cortes, Kathryn Robson, Douglas J. Kennett, Nick Patterson, Carlos D. Bustamante, Andres Moreno-Estrada, Matthew Spriggs, Miguel Vilar, Mark Lipson, Ron Pinhasi, David Reich
Summary: The study reveals the presence of five migratory streams in Micronesia, including three from East Asia, one from Polynesia, and one from mainland New Guinea. The people of the Mariana Archipelago may derive all their precolonial ancestry from East Asia, making them unique among the Remote Oceanians.
Article
Zoology
Natalia Yu. Feoktistova, Ilya G. Meschersky, Georgy I. Shenbrot, Andrey Yu. Puzachenko, Sergey I. Meschersky, Pavel L. Bogomolov, Alexey V. Surov
Summary: The phylogeographic structure of Cricetus cricetus across its entire range is described for the first time in this study. The modern phylogenetic structure was found to have formed 70-45 kyr BP, with interglacial periods proving more favorable for the species than glaciations, contrary to previous hypotheses. The observed decrease in population abundance and fragmentation of its range in natural habitats provide clear evidence of the significant role of anthropogenic factors in this process.
INTEGRATIVE ZOOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Laurie J. Reitsema, Alissa Mittnik, Britney Kyle, Giulio Catalano, Pier Francesco Fabbri, Adam C. S. Kazmi, Katherine L. Reinberger, Luca Sineo, Stefano Vassallo, Rebecca Bernardos, Nasreen Broomandkhoshbacht, Kim Callan, Francesca Candilio, Olivia Cheronet, Elizabeth Curtis, Daniel Fernandes, Martina Lari, Ann Marie Lawson, Matthew Mah, Swapan Mallick, Kirsten Mandl, Adam Micco, Alessandra Modi, Jonas Oppenheimer, Kadir Toykan Ozdogan, Nadin Rohland, Kristin Stewardson, Stefania Vai, Chiara Vergata, J. Noah Workman, Fatma Zalzala, Valentina Zaro, Alessandro Achilli, Achilles Anagnostopoulos, Cristian Capelli, Varnavas Constantinou, Hovirag Lancioni, Anna Olivieri, Anastasia Papadopoulou, Nikoleta Psatha, Ornella Semino, John Stamatoyannopoulos, Ioanna Valliannou, Evangelia Yannaki, Iosif Lazaridis, Nick Patterson, Harald Ringbauer, David Caramelli, Ron Pinhasi, David Reich
Summary: Trade and colonization in the Mediterranean led to increased human mobility, while warfare played a significant role in cultural contact. By studying the genome-wide data of soldiers from the Greek colony of Himera, we found that many soldiers had ancestral origins in northern Europe, the Steppe, and the Caucasus. This highlights the importance of mercenaries in ancient Greek armies and sheds light on the continental-scale human mobility caused by participation in war in the Classical world.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Iosif Lazaridis, Songul Alpaslan-Roodenberg, Ayse Acar, Aysen Acikkol, Ruben Davtyan, Anagnostis Agelarakis, Levon Aghikyan, Ugur Akyuz, Desislava Andreeva, Gojko AndrijaSevic, Dragana Antonovic, Ian Armit, Alper Atmaca, Pavel Avetisyan, Ahmet Ihsan Aytek, Krum Bacvarov, Ruben Badalyan, Stefan Bakardzhiev, Jacqueline Balen, Lorenc Bejko, Rebecca Bernardos, Andreas Bertsatos, Hanifi Biber, Ahmet Bilir, Mario Bodruzic, Michelle Bonogofsky, Clive Bonsall, Dusan Boric, Nikola Borovinic, Guillermo Bravo Morante, Katharina Buttinger, Kim Callan, Francesca Candilio, Mario Caric, Olivia Cheronet, Stefan Chohadzhiev, Maria-Eleni Chovalopoulou, Stella Chryssoulaki, Ion Ciobanu, Natalija Condic, Mihai Constantinescu, Emanuela Cristiani, Brendan J. Culleton, Elizabeth Curtis, Jack Davis, Tatiana Demcenco, Valentin Dergachev, Zafer Derin, Sylvia Deskaj, Seda Devejyan, Vojislav Djordjevic, Kellie Sara Duffett Carlson, Laurie R. Eccles, Nedko Elenski, Atilla Engin, Nihat Erdogan, Sabiha Erir-Pazarci, Daniel M. Fernandes, Matthew Ferry, Suzanne Freilich, Alin Frinculeasa, Michael L. Galaty, Beatriz Gamarra, Boris Gasparyan, Bisserka Gaydarska, Elif Genc, Timur Gultekin, Serkan Gunduz, Tamas Hajdu, Volker Heyd, Suren Hobosyan, Nelli Hovhannisyan, Iliya Iliev, Lora Iliev, Stanislav Iliev, Ilkay Ivgin, Ivor Jankovic, Lence Jovanova, Panagiotis Karkanas, Esra Hilal Kaya, Denise Keating, Douglas J. Kennett, Seda Deniz Kesici, Anahit Khudaverdyan, Krisztian Kiss, Sinan Kilic, Paul Klostermann, Sinem Kostak Boca Negra Valdes, SaSa KovaCevic, Marta Krenz-Niedbala, Maja Krznaric Skrivanko, Rovena Kurti, Pasko Kuzman, Ann Marie Lawson, Catalin Lazar, Krassimir Leshtakov, Thomas E. Levy, Ioannis Liritzis, Kirsi O. Lorentz, Sylwia Lukasik, Matthew Mah, Swapan Mallick, Kirsten Mandl, Kristine Martirosyan-Olshansky, Roger Matthews, Wendy Matthews, Kathleen McSweeney, Varduhi Melikyan, Adam Micco, Megan Michel, Lidija Milasinovic, Alissa Mittnik, Janet M. Monge, Georgi Nekhrizov, Rebecca Nicholls, Alexey G. Nikitin, Vassil Nikolov, Mario Novak, Inigo Olalde, Jonas Oppenheimer, Anna Osterholtz, Celal Ozdemir, Kadir Toykan Ozdogan, Nurettin Ozturk, Nikos Papadimitriou, Niki Papakonstantinou, Anastasia Papathanasiou, Lujana Paraman, Evgeny G. Paskary, Nick Patterson, Ilian Petrakiev, Levon Petrosyan, Vanya Petrova, Anna Philippa-Touchais, Ashot Piliposyan, Nada Pocuca Kuzman, Hrvoje Potrebica, Zrinka Premuzic, T. Douglas Price, Lijun Qiu, SiniSa Radovic, Kamal Raeuf Aziz, Petra Rajic Sikanjic, Kamal Rasheed Raheem, Sergei Razumov, Amy Richardson, Jacob Roodenberg, Rudenc Ruka, Victoria Russeva, Mustafa Sahin, Aysegul Sarbak, Emre Savas, Constanze Schattke, Lynne Schepartz, Tayfun Selcuk, Ayla Sevim-Erol, Michel Shamoon-Pour, Henry M. Shephard, Athanasios Sideris, Angela Simalcsik, Hakob Simonyan, Vitalij Sinika, Kendra Sirak, Ghenadie Sirbu, Mario Slaus, Andrei Soficaru, Bilal Sogut, Arkadiusz Soltysiak, Maria Stathi, Martin Steskal, Kristin Stewardson, Sharon Stocker, Fadime Suata-Alpaslan, Alexander Suvorov, Anna Szecsenyi-Nagy, Tamas Szeniczey, Nikolai Telnov, Strahil Temov, Nadezhda Todorova, Ulsi Tota, Gilles Touchais, Sevi Triantaphyllou, Atila Turker, Marina Ugarkovic, Todor Valchev, Fanica Veljanovska, Zlatko Videvski, Cristian Virag, Anna Wagner, Sam Walsh, Piotr Wlodarczak, J. Noah Workman, Aram Yardumian, Evgenii Yarovoy, Alper Yener Yavuz, Hakan Yilmaz, Fatma Zalzala, Anna Zettl, Zhao Zhang, Rafet Cavusoglu, Nadin Rohland, Ron Pinhasi, David Reich
Summary: By sequencing 727 ancient individuals from the Southern Arc over 10,000 years, this study reveals the extensive gene flow between Anatolia and the Eurasian steppe during the Chalcolithic period and Bronze Age. Two streams of migration, transmitting Caucasus and Anatolian/Levantine ancestry northward and Yamnaya pastoralists southward, have shaped the genetic landscape of the region. The findings suggest that the Indo-Anatolian homeland was in West Asia, with secondary dispersals of non-Anatolian Indo-Europeans from the steppe.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Saul Rodriguez-Martinez, Jonatan Klaminder, Marina A. Morlock, Love Dalen, Doreen Yu-Tuan Huang
Summary: Metabarcoding of environmental DNA is a powerful tool for environmental studies, but the occurrence of tag jumping can distort the data sets and bias the community analyses.
MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
David Diez-del-Molino, Marianne Dehasque, J. Camilo Chacon-Duque, Patricia Pecnerova, Alexei Tikhonov, Albert Protopopov, Valeri Plotnikov, Foteini Kanellidou, Pavel Nikolskiy, Peter Mortensen, Gleb K. Danilov, Sergey Vartanyan, M. Thomas P. Gilbert, Adrian M. Lister, Peter D. Heintzman, Tom van der Valk, Love Dalen
Summary: By analyzing 23 woolly mammoth genomes, researchers have identified genes associated with fixed derived non-synonymous mutations unique to the species and estimated the time of evolution for these mutations. The study found that the woolly mammoth had acquired a broad spectrum of positively selected genes at the time of its origin, including those related to hair and skin development, fat storage and metabolism, and immune system function. The research also revealed ongoing evolution of these phenotypes through positive selection on different sets of genes over the past 700,000 years, as well as relatively recent positive selection on genes related to skeletal morphology, body size, and small ear size.
Article
Ecology
Johannes Masviken, Love Dalen, Karin Noren, Fredrik Dalerum
Summary: Both abiotic and biotic conditions are important for biodiversity, but their relative importance may vary among diversity dimensions and spatial scales. This study examined the relative importance of abiotic and biotic conditions for three diversity dimensions of spider communities across different spatial scales. The results showed that the relationships among diversity dimensions were stronger at the local scale, and the influence of abiotic and biotic conditions varied among diversity dimensions but not consistently across spatial scales.
Review
Ecology
Nicolas Dussex, Hernan E. Morales, Christine Grossen, Love Dalen, Cock van Oosterhout
Summary: Advances in genome sequencing and computational approaches have greatly improved our ability to assess the threat posed by the genetic load to small and declining populations. However, confusion remains regarding the definitions of genetic load and its dynamics, and their impact on individual fitness and population viability. This study demonstrates the effects of both selective purging and drift on the distribution of deleterious mutations during population decline and recovery, and how this impacts the genetic load composition, extinction risk, and recovery potential of populations. The authors propose a framework for studying load dynamics and advocate for the use of load estimates in the management of endangered populations.
TRENDS IN ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Johannes Masviken, Daniel Marquina, Karin Noren, Love Dalen, Fredrik Dalerum
Summary: Mountain topography leads to significant biodiversity variations in primary productivity due to climate-driven elevation gradients, making mountain areas useful for evaluating the ecological impacts of climate change. Arthropods, the most diverse animal phylum, play vital roles in ecosystems but we have limited knowledge about their variations along elevation gradients.
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Hamish A. Burnett, Vanessa C. Bieker, Mathilde Le Moullec, Bart Peeters, Jorgen Rosvold, Ashild onvik Pedersen, Love Dalen, Leif Egil Loe, Henrik Jensen, Brage B. Hansen, Michael D. Martin
Summary: Anthropogenic reintroduction can supplement natural recolonization in reestablishing a species' distribution and abundance. However, both reintroductions and recolonizations can give rise to founder effects that reduce genetic diversity and increase inbreeding, potentially causing the accumulation of genetic load and reduced fitness.
EVOLUTIONARY APPLICATIONS
(2023)
Review
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Love Dalen, Peter D. Heintzman, Joshua D. Kapp
Summary: The emerging field of paleogenomics allows us to study ancient DNA and explore how environmental changes shaped present-day biodiversity. Deep-time genomic transects will enable inference of adaptive evolution, discovery of unrecognized species, and understanding of the impact of glaciations, volcanism, and paleomagnetic reversals on demography and community composition. However, there are still challenges, including technical limitations, evolutionary divergence, and the need for more precise dating.