Selection and drift of an alpine specialist following rapid deglaciation
We explored the evolutionary history of the alpine ground beetle, Nebria ingens complex, including the formation of morphological intermediate populations and the demographic and distributional changes responding to the last glacier retreat. We found evidence that Nebria ingens complex has responded to glacial cycles including occasional admixture followed by the distributional range shift toward mountain top with reduction of suitable habitat and subsequently a complex spatial genetic structure. From the identified genes, we found several enriched gene functions broadly associated with a range of stress responses, with more direct evidence of hypoxia-related pathways