% pubman genre = article @article{item_3290425, title = {{Recent genetic connectivity and clinal variation in chimpanzees}}, author = {Lester, Jack D. and Vigilant, Linda and Gratton, Paolo and McCarthy, Maureen S. and Barratt, Christopher D. and Dieguez, Paula and Agbor, Anthony and {\'A}lvarez-Varona, Paula and Angedakin, Samuel and Ayimisin, Ayuk Emmanuel and Bailey, Emma and Bessone, Mattia and Brazzola, Gregory and Chancellor, Rebecca and Cohen, Heather and Danquah, Emmanuel and Deschner, Tobias and Egbe, Villard Ebot and Eno-Nku, Manasseh and Goedmakers, Annemarie and Granjon, Anne-C{\'e}line and Head, Josephine and Hedwig, Daniela and Hernandez-Aguilar, R. Adriana and Jeffery, Kathryn J. and Jones, Sorrel and Junker, Jessica and Kadam, Parag and Kaiser, Michael and Kalan, Ammie K. and Kehoe, Laura and Kienast, Ivonne and Langergraber, Kevin E. and Lapuente, Juan and Laudisoit, Anne and Lee, Kevin and Marrocoli, Sergio and Mihindou, Vianet and Morgan, David and Muhanguzi, Geoffrey and Neil, Emily and Nicholl, Sonia and Orbell, Christopher and Ormsby, Lucy Jayne and Pacheco, Liliana and Piel, Alex and Robbins, Martha M. and Rundus, Aaron and Sanz, Crickette and Sciaky, Lilah and Siaka, Alhaji M. and St{\"a}dele, Veronika and Stewart, Fiona and Tagg, Nikki and Ton, Els and van Schijndel, Joost and Vyalengerera, Magloire Kambale and Wessling, Erin G. and Willie, Jacob and Wittig, Roman M. and Yuh, Yisa Ginath and Yurkiw, Kyle and Zuberbuehler, Klaus and Boesch, Christophe and K{\"u}hl, Hjalmar S. and Arandjelovic, Mimi}, language = {eng}, issn = {2399-3642}, doi = {10.1038/s42003-021-01806-x}, year = {2021}, abstract = {{Much like humans, chimpanzees occupy diverse habitats and exhibit extensive behavioural variability. However, chimpanzees are recognized as a discontinuous species, with four subspecies separated by historical geographic barriers. Nevertheless, their range-wide degree of genetic connectivity remains poorly resolved, mainly due to sampling limitations. By analyzing a geographically comprehensive sample set amplified at microsatellite markers that inform recent population history, we found that isolation by distance explains most of the range-wide genetic structure of chimpanzees. Furthermore, we did not identify spatial discontinuities corresponding with the recognized subspecies, suggesting that some of the subspecies-delineating geographic barriers were recently permeable to gene flow. Substantial range-wide genetic connectivity is consistent with the hypothesis that behavioural flexibility is a salient driver of chimpanzee responses to changing environmental conditions. Finally, our observation of strong local differentiation associated with recent anthropogenic pressures portends future loss of critical genetic diversity if habitat fragmentation and population isolation continue unabated.}}, journal = {{Communications Biology}}, volume = {4}, eid = {283}, }