@article{AutenriethHartmannLahetal.2018, author = {Autenrieth, Marijke and Hartmann, Stefanie and Lah, Ljerka and Roos, Anna and Dennis, Alice B. and Tiedemann, Ralph}, title = {High-quality whole-genome sequence of an abundant Holarctic odontocete, the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena)}, series = {Molecular ecology resources}, volume = {18}, journal = {Molecular ecology resources}, number = {6}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {1755-098X}, doi = {10.1111/1755-0998.12932}, pages = {1469 -- 1481}, year = {2018}, abstract = {The harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) is a highly mobile cetacean found across the Northern hemisphere. It occurs in coastal waters and inhabits basins that vary broadly in salinity, temperature and food availability. These diverse habitats could drive subtle differentiation among populations, but examination of this would be best conducted with a robust reference genome. Here, we report the first harbour porpoise genome, assembled de novo from an individual originating in the Kattegat Sea (Sweden). The genome is one of the most complete cetacean genomes currently available, with a total size of 2.39 Gb and 50\% of the total length found in just 34 scaffolds. Using 122 of the longest scaffolds, we were able to show high levels of synteny with the genome of the domestic cattle (Bos taurus). Our draft annotation comprises 22,154 predicted genes, which we further annotated through matches to the NCBI nucleotide database, GO categorization and motif prediction. Within the predicted genes, we have confirmed the presence of >20 genes or gene families that have been associated with adaptive evolution in other cetaceans. Overall, this genome assembly and draft annotation represent a crucial addition to the genomic resources currently available for the study of porpoises and Phocoenidae evolution, phylogeny and conservation.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Bibi2018, author = {Bibi, Faysal}, title = {Paleoecology and evolution in the Afro-Arabian neogene}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2018}, abstract = {This cumulative habilitation thesis presents new work on the systematics, paleoecology, and evolution of antelopes and other large mammals, focusing mainly on the late Miocene to Pleistocene terrestrial fossil record of Africa and Arabia. The studies included here range from descriptions of new species to broad-scale analyses of diversification and community evolution in large mammals over millions of years. A uniting theme is the evolution, across both temporal and spatial scales, of the environments and faunas that characterize modern African savannas today. One conclusion of this work is that macroevolutionary changes in large mammals are best characterized at regional (subcontinental to continental) and long-term temporal scales. General views of evolution developed on records that are too restricted in spatial and temporal extent are likely to ascribe too much influence to local or short-lived events. While this distinction in the scale of analysis and interpretation may seem trivial, it is challenging to implement given the geographically and temporally uneven nature of the fossil record, and the difficulties of synthesizing spatially and temporally dispersed datasets. This work attempts to do just that, bringing together primary fossil discoveries from eastern Africa to Arabia, from the Miocene to the Pleistocene, and across a wide range of (mainly large mammal) taxa. The end result is support for hypotheses stressing the impact of both climatic and biotic factors on long-term faunal change, and a more geographically integrated view of evolution in the African fossil record.}, language = {en} }