Award Abstract #0808619
DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Thrice through Beringia? Unraveling the evolution of North American pikas

NSF Org:	DEB Division of Environmental Biology
Initial Amendment Date:	July 19, 2008
Latest Amendment Date:	July 19, 2008
Award Number:	0808619
Award Instrument:	Standard Grant
Program Manager:	Scott D. Snyder DEB Division of Environmental Biology BIO Directorate for Biological Sciences
Start Date:	July 15, 2008
Expires:	June 30, 2010 (Estimated)
Awarded Amount to Date:	$9314
Investigator(s):	Link Olson link.olson@uaf.edu (Principal Investigator) Hayley Lanier (Co-Principal Investigator)
Sponsor:	University of Alaska Fairbanks Campus Adm Svcs Ctr Rm 109 Fairbanks, AK 99709 907/474-7314
NSF Program(s):	PHYLOGENETIC SYSTEMATICS
Field Application(s):
Program Reference Code(s):	EGCH, 9169, 9150, 1171
Program Element Code(s):	1171

ABSTRACT

The ice-free corridor between Russia and Alaska, known as Beringia, has facilitated transcontinental species exchange and provided a refugium for many species during the last ice age. It is therefore an important arena for testing theories regarding dispersal and survival of many species. Climate has shifted rapidly in this region, and recent warming trends are predicted to be strongest in the Arctic. Small mammals, such as the collared pika, provide important information on the effects of climate change. Collared pikas are found only on talus slopes in Alaska and northwest Canada. This is one of only two species of North American pikas, and their range is far to the north of the other species. When the fossil record of pikas is contrasted with genetic data, a history of recent range contraction and subsequent rapid expansion is suggested for collared pikas. This is consistent with the idea that collared pikas entered their northern habitat from refugia in the south, and not from Russia.

This award supports the research of a doctoral degree candidate at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. The study has implications for understanding the persistence and evolution of lineages in arctic and subarctic ecosystems. It will help determine the rate of faunal turnover in northern regions, and distinguish between chance events and recurrent evolutionary trends. This project also provides an important empirical context for understanding the long-term effects of climate change on the demographics of an iconic alpine mammal.

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