Genomic variation in the American pika: signatures of geographic isolation and implications for conservation.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Distributional responses by alpine taxa to repeated, glacial-interglacial cycles throughout the last two million years have significantly influenced the spatial genetic structure of populations. These effects have been exacerbated for the American pika (Ochotona princeps), a small alpine lagomorph constrained by thermal sensitivity and a limited dispersal capacity. As a species of conservation concern, long-term lack of gene flow has important consequences for landscape genetic structure and levels of diversity within populations. Here, we use reduced representation sequencing (ddRADseq) to provide a genome-wide perspective on patterns of genetic variation across pika populations representing distinct subspecies. To investigate how landscape and environmental features sh

SUBMITTER: Klingler KB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7853312 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature