The loss of genetic diversity is a challenge many species are facing, and genomics is a potential tool that can inform and prioritize decision making. Caribou populations have experienced significant recent declines throughout Québec, Canada, and some are considered threatened or endangered. We calculated the ancestral and contemporary patterns of genomic diversity of five caribou populations and applied a comparative framework to assess the interplay between demography and genomic diversity. We calculated a caribou specific mutation rate, μ, by extracting orthologous genes from related ungulates. Whole genome re-sequencing was completed on 67 caribou and genotype likelihoods were estimated. We calculated nucleotide diversity, θπ and estimated the coalescent or ancestral Ne, which ranged from 12,030 to 15,513. When compared to the census size, NC, the endangered Gaspésie Mountain caribou population had the highest Ne:NC ratio which is consistent with recent work suggesting high ancestral Ne:NC is of conservation concern. These ratios were highly correlated with genomic signatures (i.e. Tajima’s D) and explicit demographic model parameters. Values of contemporary Ne, estimated from linkage-disequilibrium, ranged from 11 to 162, with Gaspésie having among the highest contemporary Ne:NC ratio. Importantly, conservation genetics theory would predict this population to be of less concern based on this ratio. Of note, F varied only slightly between populations, and runs of homozygosity were not abundant in the genome. Our study highlights how genomic patterns are nuanced and misleading if viewed only through a contemporary lens; a holistic view should integrate ancestral Ne and Tajima’s D into conservation decisions.

The usage of preprint servers in ecology and evolution is increasing, as it allows for research to be rapidly disseminated and available through open access at no cost. This is relevant for Early Career Researchers (ECRs), who must demonstrate research ability for funding opportunities, scholarships, grants, or faculty positions in short temporal windows in order to advance their careers. Concurrently, limited experience with the peer review process can make it challenging for those who are in the early stages of their research career to build publication records. Therefore, ECRs face different challenges relative to researchers with permanent positions and established research programs and have different requirements in terms of research output and timelines. These challenges might also vary according to institution size and country, which are associated with the availability of funding for open access journals. Herein, we hypothesize that career stage and institution size impact relative usage of preprint servers among researchers in ecology and evolution. Using data collected from 500 articles (100 from each of two open access journals, two closed access journals, and a preprint server), we demonstrate that ECRs generate more preprints relative to non-ECRs, for both first and last authors. We speculate that this pattern is reflective of the advantages of quick and open access research that is disproportionately beneficial to ECRs. There is also a marginal effect of first author institution size on preprint usage, whereby the number of preprints tends to increase with institution size for ECRs, although the interaction between ECR status and institution size was not significant. The United States and United Kingdom contributed the greatest number of preprints by early career researchers, whereas non-western countries contributed relatively fewer preprints. This research provides empirical evidence regarding motivations of preprint usage and barriers surrounding large-scale adoption of preprinting in ecology and evolution.