Population structure and divergence time among East Greenland and West Greenland/Eastern Canadian Arctic narwhals, Monodon monoceros

The narwhal ( Monodon monoceros ) is an Arctic endemic odontocete that is particularly sensitive to climate change. Narwhals are also a key species in subsistence hunts in both Canada and Greenland. Understanding the genetic population structure is crucial to help management authorities set sustaina...

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Vydáno v:Polar biology Ročník 48; číslo 4; s. 112
Hlavní autoři: Lopes, Xênia M., Bérubé, Martine, Kovacs, Kit M., Dietz, Rune, Ferguson, Steven H., Heide-Jørgensen, Mads Peter, Lydersen, Christian, Palsbøll, Per J.
Médium: Journal Article
Jazyk:angličtina
Vydáno: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.12.2025
Springer Nature B.V
Témata:
Aquatic mammals
Bar codes
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Carnivorous animals
Climate change
Clustering
Confidence intervals
Differentiation
Divergence
Dominant species
Ecology
Environmental changes
Environmental effects
Genomes
Hunting
Life Sciences
Marine mammals
Microbiology
Mitochondrial DNA
Monodon
Monodon monoceros
Nucleotides
Oceanography
Overexploitation
Plant Sciences
Population dynamics
Population genetics
Population statistics
Population structure
Quotas
Single-nucleotide polymorphism
Sustainable harvest
Zoology
Denmark
Arctic region
Greenland
Monodon monoceros
Climate change
Divergence time
Single-nucleotide polymorphisms
Arctic marine mammals
Monodontidae
Population genetics
ISSN:0722-4060, 1432-2056
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Shrnutí:The narwhal ( Monodon monoceros ) is an Arctic endemic odontocete that is particularly sensitive to climate change. Narwhals are also a key species in subsistence hunts in both Canada and Greenland. Understanding the genetic population structure is crucial to help management authorities set sustainable harvest quotas to avoid overexploitation of vulnerable narwhal groups. Additionally, estimates of population divergence times and their correlation with potential environmental drivers may be informative regarding the effects of environmental change. Herein, 2236 genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphisms from 40 narwhals were used to infer population structure and divergence times. Samples were collected in six localities, one in East Greenland, four in West Greenland and one in the Eastern Canadian Arctic. The highest degree of genetic differentiation was observed between narwhals from Kangertittivaq (East Greenland) and Tasiujaq (Eastern Canadian Arctic), with a θ of 0.021 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.014–0.028). While some locations in West Greenland also exhibited significant levels of differentiation (e.g., Uummannaq vs Qeqertarsuaq, θ  = 0.011, 95% CI: 0.004–0.020), the East Greenland narwhals were most distinct based on both θ (varying from 0.01, 95% CI: 0–0.01 with Uummannaq to 0.021 95% CI: 0.014–0.028 with Tasiujaq) and clustering analyses. Our results are relevant to the management of narwhals in East Greenland, where current hunting levels are likely unsustainable. The divergence time estimated between East Greenland and West Greenland/Eastern Canadian Arctic suggests that narwhals in these two areas became separated during the Last Glacial Maximum, offering additional insight into the long-term population dynamics during climate change.
Bibliografie:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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content type line 14
ISSN:0722-4060
1432-2056
DOI:10.1007/s00300-025-03417-2