Whimbrel in Siberian tundra and Curlews further south evolved differently in the last ice age

What is it about?

Analyses of DNA show that Whimbrel breeding in the northern tundras have radiated differently to Curlews breeding in the taiga zone. Firstly, evidence points to a deep rift between Nearctic and Palaearctic Whimbrel populations, advocating the elevation of North American breeding populations to species level as the “Hudsonian whimbrel” N. hudsonicus. Secondly, Palaearctic Whimbrel populations have not radiated into as distinct forms as Eurasian Curlews N. phaeopus breeding further south. Habitat reconstructions of the Last Glacial Maximum suggest a broad and nearly unbroken belt of suitable habitat stretching along the entire southern margin of the North European Ice Sheet, which would have facilitated genetic exchange in this species. However, genetics of Curlews breeding further south are consistent with a large body of work on temperate biota showing population re-expansions from separate glacial refugia.

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