Whole‐genome sequencing has advanced the study of species evolution, including the detection of genealogical discordant events such as ancient hybridization and incomplete lineage sorting (ILS). The evolutionary history of bighorn ( Ovis canadensis ) and thinhorn ( Ovis dalli ) sheep present an ideal system to investigate evolutionary discordance due to their recent and rapid radiation and putative secondary contact between bi...

Individual differences in animal behaviour influence ecological and evolutionary processes. Much behavioural variation has a heritable component, suggesting that genetics may play a role in its development. Yet, the study of the mechanistic description linking genes to behaviour in nature remains in its infancy, and such research is considered a challenge in contemporary biology. Here, we performed a literature review and meta...

Dispersal is nearly universal; yet, which sex tends to disperse more and their success thereafter depends on the fitness consequences of dispersal. We asked if lifetime fitness differed between residents and immigrants (successful between‐population dispersers) and their offspring using 29 years of monitoring from North American red squirrels ( Tamiasciurus hudsonicus ) in Canada. Compared to residents, immigrant females had 2...

Interactions between organisms are ubiquitous and have important consequences for phenotypes and fitness. Individuals can even influence those they never meet, if they have extended phenotypes that alter the environments others experience. North American red squirrels ( Tamiasciurus hudsonicus ) guard food hoards, an extended phenotype that typically outlives the individual and is usually subsequently acquired by non‐relatives...

Recent studies suggest that evolutionary changes can occur on a contemporary time scale. Hence, evolution can influence ecology and vice‐versa. To understand the importance of eco‐evolutionary dynamics in population dynamics, we must quantify the relative contribution of ecological and evolutionary changes to population growth and other ecological processes. To date, however, most eco‐evolutionary dynamics studies have not par...

Past glaciation events have played a major role in shaping the genetic diversity and distribution of wild sheep in North America. The advancement of glaciers can isolate populations in ice‐free refugia, where they can survive until the recession of ice sheets. The major Beringian refugium is thought to have held thinhorn sheep ( Ovis dalli ) populations during times of glacial advance. While isolation in the major refugium can...

Heterozygosity fitness correlations ( HFC s) have frequently been used to detect inbreeding depression, under the assumption that genome‐wide heterozygosity is a good proxy for inbreeding. However, meta‐analyses of the association between fitness measures and individual heterozygosity have shown that often either no correlations are observed or the effect sizes are small. One of the reasons for this may be the absence of varia...

Environmental change has a wide range of ecological consequences, including species extinction and range expansion. Many studies have shown that insect species respond rapidly to climatic change. A mountain pine beetle epidemic of record size in North America has led to unprecedented mortality of lodgepole pine, and a significant range expansion to the northeast of its historic range. Our goal was to determine the spatial gene...

Landscape heterogeneity plays an integral role in shaping ecological and evolutionary processes. Despite links between the two disciplines, ecologists and population geneticists have taken different approaches to evaluating habitat selection, animal movement, and gene flow across the landscape. Ecologists commonly use statistical models such as resource selection functions (RSFs) to identify habitat features disproportionately...

Glacial cycles have played a dominant role in shaping the genetic structure and distribution of biota in northwestern North America. The two major ice age refugia of Beringia and the Pacific Northwest were connected by major mountain chains and bordered by the Pacific Ocean. As a result, numerous refugial options were available for the regions taxa during glacial advances. We reviewed the importance of glaciations and refugia...