On the origin of the mountain hare on the island of Gotland : By means of ancient DNA analysis

Abstract: The island of Gotland houses a number of terrestrial mammalian species even though it was covered with ice during the last glacial period. The purpose of this study is to genetically analyse the mountain hare (Lepus timidus) to deduce its origin and genetic structure during different time periods, and also to discuss how it reached the island. A 130 base pair sequence of mitochondrial DNA from 38 prehistoric hares was analysed and compared to modern hares from different locations in Europe. The result shows a discrepancy among the samples creating two populations with different origin.