Demographic history of African golden wolves. AGW_Demographic.history

Pleistocene climate change impacted entire ecosystems throughout the world. In the northern hemisphere, the distribution of Arctic species expanded during glacial periods, while more temperate and mesic species contracted to climatic refugia, where isolation drove genetic divergence. Cycles of local cooling and warming in the Sahara region of northern Africa caused repeated contractions and expansions of savannah-like environments connected mesic species isolated in refugia during interglacial times. Here we use whole genome sequences of African golden wolves (Canis lupaster), a generalist mesopredator with a wide distribution in northern Africa to estimate their demographic history and past episodes of geneflow. A possible correlation between divergence times and cycles of increased aridity-associated Pleistocene glacial cycles is studied. A complex demographic history with diverse responses to climate change in different lineages was found.