Dataset Information

Bison phylogeography constrains dispersal and viability of the Ice Free Corridor in western Canada.

ABSTRACT: The Ice Free Corridor has been invoked as a route for Pleistocene human and animal dispersals between eastern Beringia and more southerly areas of North America. Despite the significance of the corridor, there are limited data for when and how this corridor was used. Hypothetical uses of the corridor include: the first expansion of humans from Beringia into the Americas, northward postglacial expansions of fluted point technologies into Beringia, and continued use of the corridor as a contact route between the north and south. Here, we use radiocarbon dates and ancient mitochondrial DNA from late Pleistocene bison fossils to determine the chronology for when the corridor was open and viable for biotic dispersals. The corridor was closed after ?23,000 until 13,400 calendar years ago (cal y BP), after which we find the first evidence, to our knowledge, that bison used this route to disperse from the south, and by 13,000 y from the north. Our chronology supports a habitable and traversable corridor by at least 13,000 cal y BP, just before the first appearance of Clovis technology in interior North America, and indicates that the corridor would not have been available for significantly earlier southward human dispersal. Following the opening of the corridor, multiple dispersals of human groups between Beringia and interior North America may have continued throughout the latest Pleistocene and early Holocene. Our results highlight the utility of phylogeographic analyses to test hypotheses about paleoecological history and the viability of dispersal routes over time.

SUBMITTER: Heintzman PD

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4961175 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Bison phylogeography constrains dispersal and viability of the Ice Free Corridor in western Canada.

Heintzman Peter D PD Froese Duane D Ives John W JW Soares André E R AE Zazula Grant D GD Letts Brandon B Andrews Thomas D TD Driver Jonathan C JC Hall Elizabeth E Hare P Gregory PG Jass Christopher N CN MacKay Glen G Southon John R JR Stiller Mathias M Woywitka Robin R Suchard Marc A MA Shapiro Beth B

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20160606 29

The Ice Free Corridor has been invoked as a route for Pleistocene human and animal dispersals between eastern Beringia and more southerly areas of North America. Despite the significance of the corridor, there are limited data for when and how this corridor was used. Hypothetical uses of the corridor include: the first expansion of humans from Beringia into the Americas, northward postglacial expansions of fluted point technologies into Beringia, and continued use of the corridor as a contact ro ...[more]

PMID: 27274051

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Project description:BackgroundThe intestinal tract harbours a complex and diverse microbial population that is important for health, yet has been poorly described in many species. This study explored the fecal microbiota of semi-free-ranging Wood bison (Bison bison athabascae).ResultsA total of 2081936 16S rRNA (V4) sequences from 40 bison were evaluated. CatchAll analysis of richness predicted a mean of 10685 species per sample (range 5428-24764, SD 4136). Diversity was high, with an average inverse Simpson's index of 31.78 (SD 15.3, range 8.55-86.7). Twenty-one different phyla were identified; however, only Firmicutes and Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria accounted for >1% of sequences. Two distinct population clusters (Group A, n?=?19 and Group B, n?=?21) were evident based on both community membership and population structure. Group A had a significantly lower relative abundance of Actinobacteria (6.4 vs 11.8%, P?=?0.002), Chloroflexi (0.002 vs 0.013%, P?=?0.014), Gemmatimonadetes (0.007 vs 0.15%, P?=?0.038) and Proteobacteria (18.7 vs 42.5%, P?=?<0.0001) and a greater relative abundance of Firmicutes (70.9 vs 39.3%, P?<?0.0001) than Group B. Within Group B, Alphaproteobacteria was the most common class of Proteobacteria (28% of all sequences), while Caulobacteraceae (18.5%), Pseudomonadaceae (3.5%), Hyphomicrobiaceae (3.5%), Alcaligenaceae (3.1%) and Xanthomonadaceae (2.6%) were the most abundant families. The twenty (3.1%) most abundant genera accounted for 71% of sequences. No operational taxon units (OTUs) were found in all samples at a relative abundance of 1% or greater. One OTU (Clostridium cluster XI) was present at 1% or more in all Group A samples, with two other Clostridium cluster XI OTUs in 18/19 (95%) samples. No OTUs were found at that abundance in all Group B sample, but an unclassified Lachnospiraceae was present in 20/21 (95%) and Clostridium cluster XI and Brevundimonas were found in 19 (90%) samples.ConclusionsThe fecal microbiota of Wood bison is rich and diverse. The presence of two distinct populations not associated with housing, age or gender suggest that enterotypes, distinctly different microbial population compositions that can achieve the same ultimate function, might be present in bison, as has been suggested in humans.

Project description:Recurring glacial cycles through the Quaternary period drastically altered the size and distribution of natural populations of North American flora and fauna. The "southerly refugia model" has been the longstanding framework for testing the effects of glaciation on contemporary genetic patterns; however, insights from ancient DNA have contributed to the reconstruction of more complex histories for some species. The American badger, Taxidea taxus, provides an interesting species for exploring the genetic legacy of glacial history, having been hypothesized to have postglacially emerged from a single, southerly refugium to recolonize northern latitudes. However, previous studies have lacked genetic sampling from areas where distinct glacial refugia have been hypothesized, including the Pacific Northwest and American Far North (Yukon, Alaska). In order to further investigate the phylogeographic history of American badgers, we collected mitochondrial DNA sequence data from ancient subfossil material collected within the historical range (Alaska, Yukon) and combined them with new and previously published data from across the species' contemporary distribution (n = 1,207). We reconstructed a mostly unresolved phylogenetic tree and star-like haplotype network indicative of emergence from a largely panmictic glacial refugium and recent population expansion, the latter further punctuated by significantly negative Tajima's D and Fu's Fs values. Although directionality of migration cannot be unequivocally inferred, the moderate to high levels of genetic variation exhibited by American badgers, alongside the low frequency of haplotypes with indels in the Midwest, suggest a potential recolonization into central North America after the hypothesized ice-free corridor reopened ~13,000 years ago. Overall, the expanded reconstruction of phylogeographic history of American badgers offers a broader understanding of contemporary range-wide patterns and identifies unique genetic units that can likely be used to inform conservation of at-risk populations at the northern periphery.

Dataset Information

Bison phylogeography constrains dispersal and viability of the Ice Free Corridor in western Canada.

Publications

Bison phylogeography constrains dispersal and viability of the Ice Free Corridor in western Canada.

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