Evolutionary reconstruction supports the presence of a Pleistocene Arctic refugium for a large mammal species

Aim: The presence of refugia in the Canadian High Arctic has been subject to debate for decades. We investigated the potential existence of Arctic refugia during the Pleistocene for a large mammal species in the Canadian Archipelago because if these refugia were present, reconsideration of the evolutionary histories of North American fauna and flora beyond the major refugia of Beringia and south of the Laurentide and Cordilleran Ice Sheets would be required. Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi), identified as a subspecies based on morphological characteristics, inhabits the Canadian Arctic Islands and Boothia Peninsula. Previous studies demonstrated incomplete lineage sorting of mitochondrial DNA interpreted as a Beringian origin but were based on small sample sizes.
Location: Canadian Arctic.
Major taxa studied: Mammals: caribou (Rangifer tarandus).
Methods: We used two molecular markers (microsatellites and mitochondrial DNA) and approximate Bayesian computations (ABC) testing ...