Sea ice occurrence predicts genetic isolation in the Arctic fox

Abstract

Unlike Oceanic islands, the islands of the Arctic Sea are not completely isolated from migration by terrestrial vertebrates. The pack ice connects many Arctic Sea islands to the mainland during winter months. The Arctic fox (Alopex lagopus), which has a circumpolar distribution, populates numerous islands in the Arctic Sea. In this study, we used genetic data from 20 different populations, spanning the entire distribution of the Arctic fox, to identify barriers to dispersal. Specifically, we considered geographical distance, occurrence of sea ice, winter temperature, ecotype, and the presence of red fox and polar bear as nonexclusive factors that influence the dispersal behaviour of individuals. Using distance-based redundancy analysis and the BIOENV procedure, we showed that occurrence of sea ice is the key predictor and explained 40-60% of the genetic distance among populations. In addition, our analysis identified the Commander and Pribilof Islands Arctic populations as genetically unique suggesting they deserve special attention from a conservation perspective.

Rabies in the Arctic Fox Population, Svalbard, Norway

“…Arctic foxes are able to migrate extremely long distances (Tarroux et al, 2010). Genetic studies show that a high gene flow, due to frequent long-distance foraging movements, has resulted in a panmitic circumpolar population of arctic foxes (Dalé n et al, 2005;Charmichael et al, 2007;Geffen et al, 2007) and that the occurrence of sea ice is likely the most important factor in explaining the genetic variation of Arctic fox populations in high Arctic islands (Geffen et al, 2007). The archipelago of Svalbard may be a closed entity for the arctic fox during summer but, during winter, these islands are normally surrounded by pack ice, enabling foxes to migrate between Svalbard and, for example, Novaja Semlja, Russia (Fuglei and Øritsland, 2003) or other Arctic tundra areas in Russia (Noré n et al, 2011).…”

Morphological variation and integration of dentition in the Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus): effects of island isolation

“…Bering Island Arctic foxes were closer to mainland foxes in the shape of lower and upper tooth rows. This result is surprising, because Mednyi and Bering Island foxes are genetically similar (Geffen et al, 2007). Moreover, both Commander Islands populations have been isolated in similar environments (Zagrebelnyi, 2000b;Goltsman et al, 2005).…”

“…(V. lagopus beringensis Merriam, 1902) and Mednyi Isl. (V. lagopus semenovi Ognev, 1931), have been isolated for approximately 10,000 years from mainland Arctic foxes (Goltsman et al, 1996;Goltsman et al, 2005;Geffen et al, 2007;Dzhykiya, 2008) by the icefree waters of the Bering Sea. The island environment is not typical Arctic fox habitat, exhibiting a mild climate and an absence of rodents (Goltsman et al, 2005).…”

“…The island environment is not typical Arctic fox habitat, exhibiting a mild climate and an absence of rodents (Goltsman et al, 2005). The two Commander Islands populations are genetically similar but show a genetically distant relationship with other Arctic fox populations (Geffen et al, 2007). Arctic foxes living on the mainland (V. lagopus lagopus L., 1758), disperse widely and therefore constitute a single mainland subspecies (Dalén et al, 2005).…”

Isolation and characterization of polymorphic microsatellite markers for blue fox (Alopex lagopus)

“…Because of their high polymorphism, co-dominance, and abundance in the genome of eukaryotes, microsatellite markers have been extensively used in genetic mapping (Kukekova et al, 2004), forensics (Lindqvist et al, 1996), evolutionary studies, and population genetic analyses (Korrida et al, 2012;Wang et al, 2014). To date, the microsatellite markers available for arctic fox were derived from cross-species amplifications with canine SSR primers (Fredholm and Winterø, 1995;Rogalska-Niznik et al, 2003;Szczerbal et al, 2003;Dalén et al, 2006;Geffen et al, 2007). In the present study, we isolated and characterized 17 polymorphic microsatellite markers for arctic fox from an (AC) n enrichment library.…”