Phylogeographic genomics of glacial Atlantic Canada and the North Atlantic

系统地理学是在地理环境中研究遗传关系的学科。线粒体DNA是一种仅通过母亲遗传的分子。现在，新的生物技术使得在一次实验中确定多个动物物种的完整mtDNA序列成为可能，这使得这些母系可以非常精确地追踪时间和空间。我们正在研究加拿大大西洋和北大西洋的鱼类和哺乳动物物种的回归，这些物种在过去几十万年的连续冰河时期无法生存。对大西洋鳕鱼和竖琴海豹等海洋物种的研究表明，它们目前的分布反映了数万年前的事件，而驯鹿等陆地动物只是在最近几千年才回到冰川后的纽芬兰。这些研究对这些物种的资源和保护管理具有实际意义。

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.