Ice-Age Climate Adaptations Trap the Alpine Marmot in a State of Low Genetic Diversity.

Some species responded successfully to prehistoric changes in climate [1, 2], while others failed to adapt and became extinct [3]. The factors that determine successful climate adaptation remain poorly understood. We constructed a reference genome and studied physiological adaptations in the Alpine marmot (Marmota marmota), a large ground-dwelling squirrel exquisitely adapted to the "ice-age" climate of the Pleistocene steppe [4, 5]. Since the disappearance of this habitat, the rodent persists in large numbers in the high-altitude Alpine meadow [6, 7]. Genome and metabolome showed evidence of adaptation consistent with cold climate, affecting white adipose tissue. Conversely, however, we found that the Alpine marmot has levels of genetic variation that are among the lowest for mammals, such that deleterious mutations are less effectively purged. Our data rule out typical explanations for low diversity, such as high levels of consanguineous mating, or a very recent bottleneck. Instead, ancient demographic reconstruction revealed that genetic diversity was lost during the climate shifts of the Pleistocene and has not recovered, despite the current high population size. We attribute this slow recovery to the marmot's adaptive life history. The case of the Alpine marmot reveals a complicated relationship between climatic changes, genetic diversity, and conservation status. It shows that species of extremely low genetic diversity can be very successful and persist over thousands of years, but also that climate-adapted life history can trap a species in a persistent state of low genetic diversity.This work was supported by the Francis Crick Institute which receives its core funding from Cancer Research UK (FC001134), the UK Medical Research Council (FC001134), and the Wellcome Trust (FC001134). CB and AC are supported by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (project ANR-13-JSV7-0005) and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), CB is supported by the Rhône-Alpes region (Grant 15.005146.01). LD is supported by Agence Nationale de la Recherche (project ANR-12-ADAP-0009). TIG is supported by a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship (Grant ECF-2015-453) and a NERC grant (NE/N013832/1). JMG is supported by a Hertha Finberg Fellowship (FWF T703). LDR is supported by the Diabetes UK RD Lawrence Fellowship (16/0005382)

Die Murmeltiere (Marmota m. marmota) in den Spanischen Pyrenäen: Beispel für eine erfolgreiche Einbürgerung

8 páginas, 4 figuras.-- El PDF del artículo es el manuscrito de los autores.[EN]: For the Alpine marmot the Pyrenees represent a peripheral isolate well separated from the main distribuition area. Althought they were inhabited by marmots during the Pleistocene, these populations gor extinct at the end of that period (about 15.000 years ago).[AL]: Die Pyrenäen stellen für das Alpenmurmeltier eine wom Hauptverbreitungsgebiet deutlich abgegrenztse periphere Verbreitungsinsel dar. Im Pleistozän waren sie zwar noch von Murmeltieren besiedelt, die aber am Ende dieser erdgeschichtlichen periode (vor etwa 15.000 Jahren) ausstarben.Die Feldarbeit wurde unterstützt durch die Autonomen Landesregierungen von Aragon und Navarra sowie dem baskischen Forschungsinstitut Eusko Ikaskuntza. Zusätzliche Förderung erfolgte durch die INTAS Projekte 93-161 und 94-1428.Peer reviewe

A possible new subspecies of the Philippine Hawk-Eagle (Spizaetus philippensis) and its future prospects

Volume: 32Start Page: 126End Page: 13

The successful introduction of the alpine marmot Marmota marmota in the Pyrenees, Iberian Peninsula, Western Europe

21 páginas1. The introduction of non-native species can pose environmental and economic risks, but under some conditions, introductions can serve conservation or recreational objectives. To minimize risks, introductions should be conducted following the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s guidelines and should include an initial assessment and a follow-up. 2. In 1948, to reduce the predation pressure on Pyrenean chamois Rupicapra pyrenaica pyrenaica by golden eagles Aquila chrysaetos, the alpine marmot Marmota marmota was introduced to the Pyrenees in Western Europe. In successive introductions, about 500 marmots were released, but the fate of the released animals and their impacts on the environment remain largely unstudied. 3. The aim of this study was to assess the success of the introduction of the alpine marmot into the Pyrenees, 60 years after the initial release, and the potential impacts of this species on Pyrenean ecosystems. 4. We reviewed what is known about the marmot populations introduced to the Pyrenees and other populations within their native range in the Alps, particularly in terms of population structure and dynamics, habitat use and potential environmental impacts. 5. The alpine marmot is widely distributed and, apparently, well established in the Pyrenees. Population structure and demographic parameters are similar within and outside the historical distribution range of the species, and habitat suitability is one of the main reasons for the species’ success in the Pyrenees. Few researchers have investigated the impacts of alpine marmots in the Pyrenees; thus, those impacts have to be inferred from those observed in the species’ native range or in other species of marmot. Introduced alpine marmots are likely to impact on Pyrenean grasslands through grazing and burrowing, have the potential to alter Pyrenean food webs and could act as vectors of parasites and disease. 6. Although the introduction of the alpine marmot in the Pyrenees appears to have been successful, more needs to be known about the effects of the established populations on the environment before informed management actions can be taken in the Pyrenees.We thank M. Gartzia for assistance with the map, C. Gortázar for useful advice on the parasites of alpine marmots, K. Foulché for providing information on the French populations and B. MacWhirter for improving the English version. Special thanks are due to S. Couto, A. García-Serrano and I. Garin for their support. A Félix de Azara Research Grant awarded by the Diputación de Huesca funded this project.Peer reviewe

Differences in initial and aquired resistance to Ichthyophthirius multifiliis between populations of rainbowfish

Wild-caught rainbowfish Melanotaenia spp. originating from three isolated populations were infected with a quantified dosage of parasites Ichthyophthirius multifiliis in a controlled environment. The Melanotaenia eachamensis from Dirran Creek were much more susceptible to ichthyophthiriasis than were M. splendida from the Lake Tinaroo or Bluewater Creek populations. When the highly susceptible Dirran Creek rainbowfish were crossed with rainbowfish from a fourth population, Lake Eacham M. eachamensis, they produced hybrids with significantly higher resistance than pure-bred Dirran Creek, but not higher than pure-bred Lake Eacham fish. Hence, intraspecific hybridization increased resistance to I. multifiliis infection in M. eachamensis. Hosts from all three populations were much less susceptible to infection on their second exposure to the parasite. However, the Bluewater Creek population was better able to acquire immunity to I. multifiliis than either the Dirran Creek or Lake Tinaroo populations. It is tentatively suggested that there may be a link between the heterozygosity of populations of rainbowfish and their initial ability to resist infection by Ichthyophthirius multifiliis