Jennifer A Leonard

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Verified

Jennifer verified their affiliation via an institutional email.

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• PhD
• tenured researcher at Spanish National Research Council

Chromosomal inversions, by suppressing recombination, can profoundly shape genome evolution and drive adaptation. In the common quail (Coturnix coturnix), a highly mobile bird with a vast Palearctic breeding range, we previously identified a massive inversion on chromosome 1 associated with distinct phenotypes and restricted geographic distribution...

Mitigating loss of genetic diversity is a major global biodiversity challenge1, 2, 3–4. To meet recent international commitments to maintain genetic diversity within species5,6, we need to understand relationships between threats, conservation management and genetic diversity change. Here we conduct a global analysis of genetic diversity change via...

Invading species along with increased anthropogenization may lead to hybridization events between wild species and closely related domesticates. As a consequence, wild species may carry introgressed alleles from domestic species, which is generally assumed to yield adverse effects in wild populations. The opposite evolutionary consequence, adaptive...

We present a comprehensive integrative taxonomic review of Callosciurus caniceps and Tamiops mcclellandii as they are currently defined. This review combines published molecular evidence, craniodental morphometrics, pelage and bacular variation, evaluations of potential hybrid zones using museum specimens and citizen science photographs, and, for C...

Body size rules the distribution and abundance of species, affecting the composition of animal communities. Body size distributions may explain niche partitioning and have been used to quantify the relative resilience of communities to perturbations. Five hypotheses have been put forward to explain observed body mass patterns in animal communities...

The European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA) consortium aims to generate a reference genome catalogue for all of Europe's eukaryotic biodiversity. The biological material underlying this mission, the specimens and their derived samples, are provided through ERGA’s pan-European network. To demonstrate the community’s capability and capacity to realise...

The genus Equus was represented on the Iberian Peninsula by four species during the late Quaternary: the wild, now extinct, E. ferus (wild horse) and E. hydruntinus (European wild ass) and the extant, domestic E. caballus (horse) and E. asinus (donkey). The distribution and timing of the extinctions of the wild species and arrival of the domestic s...

We here present a comprehensive integrative taxonomic review of the genus Hylomys, using molecular (mitochondrial genomes and up to five nuclear loci) and morphological data from museum specimens across its distribution, resulting in the description of two new species and the elevation of three subspecies to specific status. This revision significa...

Effective population size estimates are critical information needed for evolutionary predictions and conservation decisions. This is particularly true for species with social factors that restrict access to breeding or experience repeated fluctuations in population size across generations. We investigated the genomic estimates of effective populati...

The gray wolf (Canis lupus) population on the Iberian Peninsula was the largest in western and central Europe during most of the 20th century, with its size apparently never under a few hundred individuals. After partial legal protection in the 1970s in Spain, the northwest Iberian population increased to about 300-350 packs and then stabilized. In...

The European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA) consortium aims to generate a reference genome catalogue for all of Europe's eukaryotic biodiversity. The biological material underlying this mission, the specimens and their derived samples. are provided through ERGA's pan-European network. To demonstrate the community's capability and capacity to realise...

Oceanic islands are characterized by conditions that favour diversification into endemic lineages that can be very different from their mainland counterparts. This can be the result of fast phenotypic divergence due to drift or the result of slower adaptation to local conditions. This uniqueness can obscure their evolutionary history. Here we used...

The horse is central to many Indigenous cultures across the American Southwest and the Great Plains. However, when and how horses were first integrated into Indigenous lifeways remain contentious, with extant models derived largely from colonial records. We conducted an interdisciplinary study of an assemblage of historic archaeological horse remai...

Aim Understanding the biotic and abiotic mechanisms underlying the generation and maintenance of biogeographic transitions represent long-standing topics in evolutionary biology. The Isthmus of Kra (IOK) divides Sundaland and Indochina and constitutes a poorly characterized terrestrial biogeographic transition. Here we looked at population genetic...

Gray wolves (Canis lupus) in the Iberian Peninsula declined substantially in both range and population size in the last few centuries due to human persecution and habitat fragmentation. However, unlike many other western European populations, gray wolves never went extinct in Iberia. Since the minimum number was recorded around 1970, their numbers...

The grey wolf (Canis lupus) was the first species to give rise to a domestic population, and they remained widespread throughout the last Ice Age when many other large mammal species went extinct. Little is known, however, about the history and possible extinction of past wolf populations or when and where the wolf progenitors of the present-day do...

Bergmann’s and Allen’s rules were defined to describe macroecological patterns across latitudinal gradients. Bergmann observed a positive association between body size and latitude for endothermic species while Allen described shorter appendages as latitude increases. Almost two centuries later, there is still ongoing discussion about these pattern...

Los mitogenomas completos desvelan la limitada variabilidad genética del lirón careto Eliomys quercinus en la Península Ibérica El lirón careto Eliomys quercinus es una especie paleártica occidental poco conocida cuyas poblaciones están experimentando un descenso a escala mundial. Aunque la información genética sea fundamental para determinar las c...

Progress in genome sequencing now enables the large-scale generation of reference genomes. Various international initiatives aim to generate reference genomes representing global biodiversity. These genomes provide unique insights into genomic diversity and architecture, thereby enabling comprehensive analyses of population and functional genomics,...

The presence of population-specific phenotypes often reflects local adaptation or barriers to gene flow. The co-occurrence of phenotypic polymorphisms that are restricted within the range of a highly mobile species is more difficult to explain. An example of such polymorphisms is in the common quail Coturnix coturnix, a small migratory bird that mo...

Ecological and conservation genetic studies often use noninvasive sampling, especially with elusive or endangered species. Because microsatellites are generally short in length, they can be amplified from low quality samples such as feces. Microsatellites are highly polymorphic so few markers are enough for reliable individual identification, kinsh...

The genus Neomys contains four species, three of which are present on the Iberian Peninsula. Recent phylogeographic studies have thoroughly assessed the evolutionary history of this genus in this region. However, perhaps due to its rarity, the isolated and endangered populations of southern Iberia have never been included in these studies. Thus, th...

Bandicoot rats (genus Bandicota) are distributed widely across the Indomalay biogeographic realm of tropical East Asia. One widely distributed species, the greater bandicoot rat (Bandicota indica), has a disjunct distribution including both north and south of the biogeographic break at the Isthmus of Kra. We compared genetic variation of greater ba...

The hyperdiverse shrew genus Crocidura is one of few small mammal genera distributed across Sundaland and all of its boundaries. This represents a rare opportunity to study the geological history of this region through the evolutionary history of these shrews. We generate a phylogeny of all recognized species of Sundaland Crocidura and show that mo...

The endangered Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) is known to carry exceedingly low levels of genetic diversity. This could be (i) the result of long‐term evolutionary patterns as they exist at the southernmost limit of the species distribution at a relatively reduced effective size, or (ii) due to rapid population decline caused by human persecuti...

Mountain ranges offer opportunities for understanding how species evolved and diversified across different environmental conditions. Neotropical frogs of the genus Oreobates (Anura: Craugastoridae) are adapted to highland and lowland habitats along the Andes, but many aspects of their evolution remain unknown. We studied their evolutionary history...

Background and aims Wildlife conservation has focused primarily on species for the last decades. Recently, popular perception and laws have begun to recognize the central importance of genetic diversity in the conservation of biodiversity. How to incorporate genetic diversity in ongoing monitoring and management of wildlife is still an open questio...

Pleistocene climate change impacted entire ecosystems throughout the world. In the northern hemisphere, the distribution of Arctic species expanded during glacial periods, while more temperate and mesic species contracted into climatic refugia, where isolation drove genetic divergence. Cycles of local cooling and warming in the Sahara region of nor...

Hacia análisis genéticos de alto rendimiento de muestras fecales de fauna silvestre La secuenciación de alto rendimiento ofrece nuevas posibilidades en ecología molecular y biología de la conservación. Sin embargo, el potencial de esta técnica no ha sido totalmente explotado para estudios no invasivos, a partir de muestras fecales, de fauna en libe...

Janzen's influential "mountain passes are higher in the tropics" hypothesis predicts restricted gene flow and genetic isolation among populations spanning elevational gradients in the tropics. Few studies have tested this prediction, and studies that focus on population genetic structure in Southeast Asia are particularly underrepresented in the li...

Recurring glacial cycles through the Quaternary period drastically altered the size and distribution of natural populations of North American flora and fauna. The “southerly refugia model” has been the longstanding framework for testing the effects of glaciation on contemporary genetic patterns; however, insights from ancient DNA have contributed t...

Supplementary figure 4. Dorsal (A) and ventral (B) view of the holotype skins of Sundasciurus lowii (NHM76.5.2.14), Sundasciurus natunensis (NHM94.9.28.40), Sundasciurus robinsoni (NHM3.2.6.55) and Sundasciurus fraterculus (NHM95.1.9.12). Photographs of live specimens: (C) Sundasciurus robinsoni (taken in Sumatra; photo credits: Oscar Johnson), (D)...

Supplementary figure 5. Bivariate plots of selected external measurements and diagnostic craniodental dimensions. (A) shows tail length versus head and body length; (B) shows ear length versus occipitonasal length; (C) shows breadth of bony palate at fourth premolar versus length of bony palate ; (D) shows height of braincase versus occipitonasal l...

A surprising amount of hidden phylogenetic diversity exists in the small to medium size, drab colored squirrels of the genus Sundasciurus. This genus is endemic to Sundaland and the Philippines, where it is widespread. An earlier revision of this genus found that the high elevation ‘populations’ of the widespread, lowland slender squirrel (S. tenui...

Tropical mountains are cradles of biodiversity and endemism. Sundaland, tropical Southeast Asia, hosts three species of Rattus endemic to elevations above 2,000 m with an apparent convergence in external morphology: Rattus korinchi and R. hoogerwerfi from Sumatra, and R. baluensis from Borneo. A fourth one, R. tiomanicus, is restricted to lowland e...

The honey badger (Mellivora capensis) is a medium-sized carnivore distributed throughout Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Turkmenistan, and India. However, available information on its ecology is very scarce. We studied its feeding ecology in the remote north-western Sahara Desert, based on the contents of 125 fecal samples collected during l...

Genetic variability has been widely neglected as a measure of biodiversity for conservation and management over the last decades. However, major technical advances in molecular biology coupled with increased public awareness have recently marked the opening of a new era. Estimates and tracking of genetic variability in species and populations are n...

Mountains offer replicated units with large biotic and abiotic gradients in a reduced spatial scale. This transforms them into well-suited scenarios to evaluate biogeographic theories. Mountain biogeography is a hot topic of research and many theories have been proposed to describe the changes in biodiversity with elevation. Geometric constraints,...

Horse domestication revolutionized warfare and accelerated travel, trade, and the geographic expansion of languages. Here, we present the largest DNA time series for a non-human organism to date, including genome-scale data from 149 ancient animals and 129 ancient genomes (≥1-fold coverage), 87 of which are new. This extensive dataset allows us to...

In previous centuries, wolves were extirpated across much of their range worldwide, but they started to recover in Europe since the end of last century. A general pattern of this recovery is the expansion of the range occupied by local populations. The Iberian wolf population, shared by Portugal and Spain, reached its lowest extent and abundance ar...

Allee effects reduce the viability of small populations in many different ways, which act synergistically to lead populations towards extinction vortexes. The Sierra Morena wolf population, isolated in the south of the Iberian Peninsula and composed of just one or few packs for decades, represents a good example of how diverse threats act additivel...

Aim The genetics of organisms currently isolated in refugia has received little attention compared to post‐glacial expansions. We study the population history and connectivity of a rat endemic to montane habitat in Borneo to better understand the history and potential of populations in interglacial mountain refugia. Location Sabah, Borneo, Malaysi...

Biodiversity across elevational gradients generally follows patterns, the evolutionary origins of which are debated. We trapped small non-volant mammals across an elevational gradient on Mount (Mt.) Kinabalu (4,101 m) and Mt. Tambuyukon (2,579 m), two neighboring mountains in Borneo, Malaysia. We also included visual records and camera trap data fr...

Biodiversity across elevational gradients generally follows patterns, the evolutionary origins of which are debated. We trapped small non-volant mammals across an elevational gradient on Mount (Mt.) Kinabalu (4,101 m) and Mt. Tambuyukon (2,579 m), two neighboring mountains in Borneo, Malaysia. We also included visual records and camera trap data fr...

The taxonomic position of Annandale’s rat, Rattus annandalei (Bonhote, 1903), has been uncertain given its mix of Rattus-like and Sundamys-like morphological features. Annandale’s rat and all described species in Sundamys (the lowland S. muelleri, and the montane S. maxi and S. infraluteus) are endemic to Sundaland, a center of diversification and...

Saber-toothed cats (Machairodontinae) are among the most widely recognized representatives of the now largely extinct Pleistocene megafauna. However, many aspects of their ecology, evolution, and extinction remain uncertain. Although ancient-DNA studies have led to huge advances in our knowledge of these aspects of many other megafauna species (e.g...

A recent review titled “Clarifying Historical Range to Aid Recovery of the Mexican Wolf” by Heffelfinger et al. (2017) reviews historical range delineation but misinterprets published studies and encourages the support of antiquated methods to determine appropriate range for this highly endangered subspecies. We respond to Heffelfinger et al. (2017...

Whole genome sequencing (WGS) is a very valuable resource to understand the evolutionary history of poorly known species. However, in organisms with large genomes, as most amphibians, WGS is still excessively challenging and transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) represents a cost-effective tool to explore genome-wide variability. Non-model organisms d...

The grey wolf (Canis lupus) is an iconic large carnivore that has increasingly been recognized as an apex predator with intrinsic value and a keystone species. However, wolves have also long represented a primary source of human–carnivore conflict, which has led to long-term persecution of wolves, resulting in a significant decrease in their number...

Whole genome sequencing is opening the door to novel insights into the population structure and evolutionary history of poorly known species. In organisms with large genomes, which includes most amphibians, whole-genome sequencing is excessively challenging and transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) represents a cost-effective tool to explore genome-wi...

Whole genome sequencing is opening the door to novel insights into the population structure and evolutionary history of poorly known species. In organisms with large genomes, which includes most amphibians, whole-genome sequencing is excessively challenging and transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) represents a cost-effective tool to explore genome-wi...

In order to interpret fossil and sub-fossil associations of vertebrates, it is important to understand how carcasses degrade in nature. Here we describe the process of bone loss from of 32 carcasses from eight species of terrestrial mammals over two to 63 months in two Mediterranean ecosystems in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. The carcasse...

Background The Indonesian island of Sulawesi has a complex geological history. It is composed of several landmasses that have arrived at a near modern configuration only in the past few million years. It is the largest island in the biodiversity hotspot of Wallacea—an area demarcated by the biogeographic breaks between Wallace’s and Lydekker’s line...

Pigs (Sus scrofa) have played an important cultural role in Hawaii since Polynesians first introduced them in approximately AD 1200. Additional varieties of pigs were introduced following Captain Cook's arrival in Hawaii in 1778 and it has been suggested that the current pig population may descend primarily, or even exclusively, from European pigs....

Aim Grey wolves (Canis lupus) are widespread across the Holarctic. Here, we test the previously proposed hypothesis that extant North American wolves originate from multiple waves of colonization from Asia. We also test the hypothesis that land connections have been important in the evolutionary history of other isolated wolf populations in Japan....

The golden jackal of Africa (Canis aureus) has long been considered a conspecific of jackals distributed throughout Eurasia, with the nearest source populations in the Middle East. However, two recent reports found that mitochondrial haplotypes of some African golden jackals aligned more closely to gray wolves (Canis lupus) [1, 2], which is surpris...

AimPleistocene environmental fluctuations had well-characterized impacts on the patterns of within-species divergences and diversity in temperate habitats. Here we examine the impact the Pleistocene had on widely distributed forest vertebrates in a tropical system where the distribution of the habitat was affected by those fluctuations.LocationSund...

Library preparation protocols for high-throughput DNA sequencing (HTS) include amplification steps in which errors can build up. In order to have confidence in the sequencing data, it is important to understand the effects of different Taq polymerases and PCR amplification protocols on the DNA molecules sequenced. We compared thirteen enzymes in th...

This chapter discusses the effects of hybridization with domestic dogs on the conservation of wild canids. Hybridization between gray wolves and dogs are the majority of the documented hybridization between wild and domestic canids, and it does not usually threaten breeding opportunities. The chapter states that hybridization between dogs and rarer...

Understanding the evolution of color in birds is important because it is used for both inter- and intra-specific communication and is often linked to other important traits including life history, behavior, immunology, and mate choice. The coppersmith barbet (Megalaima haemacephala) is widely distributed across southern Asia and many islands of the...