Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Phylogeography is the study of genetic relationships in their geographic context. Mitochondrial DNA is a molecule inherited solely through the mother, and is thus a valuable tool for exploring maternal ancestry. We have developed a new biotechnology (a ""Gene Chip"") 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 animal species that may or may not 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 fate of species during times of climactic change, and for stock and conservation management of these species.