Glacial relict

Population of a cold-adapted species remaining after its glacier habitat has receded

A glacial relict is a population of a species previously common during a glacial period that retreated into refugia during interglacial periods.[1] They are typically cold-adapted species with a distribution restricted to regions and microhabitats that allow them to survive despite climatic changes.[1][2]

Examples:

  • The biogeography of various aquatic species deemed glacial relicts that are found in Lake Sommen is likely related to a different geography during the early history of the lake. One theory claims that aquatic species were transferred from the Baltic Ice Lake through a natural lock system in connection with a temporary advance of the ice-front during the Younger Dryas.[3] On land, the unusual occurrence of dwarf birch near Sund is also judged to be a leftover from a cold geological past.[4]

See also

  • Biodiversity hotspot
  • Ecological island
  • Last Glacial Maximum refugia
  • Nunatak hypothesis
  • Rapoport's rule
  • Relict (biology)
  • Sky island
  • Wrangel Island (home to last population of mammoths)

References

  1. ^ a b Dítě, Daniel; Hájek, Michal; Svitková, Ivana; Košuthová, Alica; Šoltés, Rudolf; Kliment, Ján (September 2018). "Glacial-relict symptoms in the Western Carpathian flora". Folia Geobotanica. 53 (3): 277–300. doi:10.1007/s12224-018-9321-8.
  2. ^ Jiménez-Alfaro, Borja; García-Calvo, Laura; García, Pedro; Acebes, José Luis (2016). "Anticipating extinctions of glacial relict populations in mountain refugia". Biological Conservation. 201: 243–251. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2016.07.015.
  3. ^ Kinsten, Björn (2010). De glacialrelikta kräftdjurens utbredning i södra Sverige (Götaland och Svealand) (PDF) (Report) (in Swedish). Länsstyrelsen Blekinge län. pp. 1–19. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  4. ^ Hellgren, George (1960). "Något om växtligheten i Ydre". In Filén, Thure (ed.). Ydre-Boken (in Swedish). Linköping. pp. 86–91.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)


  • v
  • t
  • e
Stub icon

This glaciology article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

  • v
  • t
  • e