Phylogeographic genomics of glacial Atlantic Canada and the North Atlantic

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Phylogeography is the study of genetic relationships in their geographic context. Mitochondrial DNA is a molecule inherited solely through the mother. New biotechnology now makes it possible to determine the complete mtDNA sequence of multiple animal species in a single experiment, which allows these maternal lines to be traced through time and space with great precision. We are examining the return to Atlantic Canada and the North Atlantic of fish and mammal species that would have been unable to survive during successive ice ages over the last several hundred thousand years. Studies of marine species like Atlantic Cod and Harp Seals indicate that their current distributions reflect events tens of thousands of years ago, whereas land animals like Caribou have returned to post-glacial Newfoundland only in the last few thousand years. These studies have practical implications for the stock and conservation management of these species.