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BIOEVO-Evolusjonsbiologi og økologi

Circumboreal phylogeography of closely related deer species - exemplifying a speciation process

Awarded: NOK 1.8 mill.

The glacial-interglacial cycles of the upper Pleistocene have had major influence on the evolutionary history of species distributed in the northern hemisphere. Although studies assessing the effects of the Pleistocene environmental fluctuations have accu mulated over the past decade, the relationship between these large-scale fluctuations and the speciation process is far from fully understood. Here, we propose a project assessing inter- and intraspecific evolutionary processes in closely related deer spe cies (the red deer, the sika deer, and the wapiti). These species may have diverged less than 500 000 years ago. Although most authors today co nsider them as separate species, fertile hybrids have been observed. This shows that reproductive isolation is not complete and suggests that we are facing an ongoing speciation process. Deeper insight into this process - including centers of origin, disp ersal across and between continents, and the timing of important evolutionary events - may be obtained by a p hylogeographic approach. We believe that such an approach provides a rather unique opportunity to gain a "snap-shot" of evolutionary history, with the potential to unravelthe detailed history of a speciation event.

Funding scheme:

BIOEVO-Evolusjonsbiologi og økologi

Thematic Areas and Topics

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