PALEO-CONNECTIVITY WITHIN NORTHWESTERN PATAGONIA GUANACO POPULATIONS: A STUDY OF ANCIENT DNA

ABBONA, CINTHIA CAROLINA; NEME, GUSTAVO; PUIG, SILVIA; VIDELA, FERNANDO; GIL, ADOLFO; JOHNSON, JEFF; WOLVERTON, STEVE

Chungará (Arica)

Universidad de Tarapaca

Año: 2023 vol. 55 p. 581 - 594

Hunting by humans impacted the guanaco population in northwestern Patagonia during the late Holocene. A recent ancient DNA study has demonstrated a decrease in guanaco population size during the last 2000 years BP, which appears to be the result of resource depression. In this paper, we examine the genetic structure of the guanaco population during the last 2000 years BP in more detail. We analyzed 23 samples of ancient guanaco DNA from across the region. The results show three common haplotypes (1, 3 and 6) in the Andean highlands and steppe lowlands. In contrast, haplotypes 2, 4 and 7 occur exclusively in the highland samples dating to 1000 years BP and after. Haplotypes 2, 4 and 7 may represent admixture through gene flow from another population after 1000 years BP. Alternatively, these distinctive haplotypes could represent mutations that appeared because of population fragmentation due to bottlenecks and gene flow interruption caused by increases in hunting pressure by humans, which may have disconnected the regional guanaco populations.