Horseshoe crabs are unique living fossils that have remained almost unaltered through 400 million years of global change. They face rapid worldwide declines under increasing anthropogenic pressure. Using comprehensive geographic and genomic sampling combined with approaches that integrate DNA with environmental and climatic datasets, we assessed the population genetic structure, demographic histories, and vulnerability to future climate change in three out of four extant horseshoe crab species, all centered in Asia. Our study highlights that the Sunda Shelf, a complex and dynamic shallow-marine landscape, has been the sole repository of most genetic diversity among all three Asian species, and therefore crucial to the long-term survival of horseshoe crabs. Our study not only provides the first genomic baseline data for the evaluation of Asian horseshoe crabs’ conservation status but also identifies core habitats that potentially act as refugia and corridors for Asian horseshoe crab populations with impending anthropogenic global warming.

中文翻译：

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亚洲马蹄蟹的进化和生存能力似乎与巽他大陆架的地质气候动态密切相关


马蹄蟹是独特的活化石，在 4 亿年的全球变化中几乎没有改变。在日益增长的人为压力下，它们面临着全球范围内的迅速下降。使用全面的地理和基因组采样，结合将 DNA 与环境和气候数据集相结合的方法，我们评估了现存四种马蹄蟹物种中三种的种群遗传结构、人口历史和对未来气候变化的脆弱性，这些物种都以亚洲为中心。我们的研究强调，巽他大陆架是一个复杂而动态的浅海景观，一直是所有三个亚洲物种中最具遗传多样性的唯一储存库，因此对马蹄蟹的长期生存至关重要。我们的研究不仅为评估亚洲马蹄蟹的保护状况提供了第一个基因组基线数据，而且还确定了在即将到来的人为全球变暖的情况下可能充当亚洲马蹄蟹种群避难所和走廊的核心栖息地。