Yuta Inoue, Yutaro Suzuki, Kaori Hanazaki, Hitoshi Suzuki (2022) Quaternary environmental changes shaped mitochondrial DNA diversity in the large Japanese wood mouse Apodemus speciosus in Hokkaido, Japan. Mammal Study 47 (4): 249–259.

　This study examined the effects of environmental changes during the Holocene on the population expansion of the large Japanese field mouse Apodemus speciosus from a genetic perspective. Using mitochondrial DNA sequences (cytochrome b and the control region) of samples from Hokkaido, Japan, obtained through a field survey and a database collection, the study examined the genetic differentiation among local populations and the timescale of the population expansion. The study revealed two rapid population expansion events after the last glacial maximum and Marine Isotope Stage 4 that shaped the current population genetic patterns of this species in Hokkaido. The direction of the population expansion in Hokkaido was also discussed. A major strength of this paper is that it provides the most likely scenario for the mechanism driving the distribution and genetic diversity of A. speciosus in light of past environmental changes, information that may also contribute to our understanding of the population dynamics of other mammalian species in Hokkaido.