Grant Award View - GA66648

Populations rise to the challenge of changing environments through a blend of adaptation and dispersal. The signals of these processes are captured in the genetic diversity of populations and how this is structured across a species range. Such genetic diversity thus provides a useful means to understand past change and anticipate outcomes to future change. Decades of work has concerned the genetic diversity and connectivity of populations for a broad range of species across the Antarctic. Yet no study has provided a quantitative, integrated analysis of the form and extent of this genetic structure. Antarctic conservation management is thus devoid of a tool widely used elsewhere. We will address this gap, drawing together existing data on the genetic diversity of Antarctic populations and using modern analytical techniques. In doing so, we will reveal key patterns of population resilience across the region and provide policy makers with new data to assist in spatial management.