Divergence in an archipelago and its conservation consequences in Aleutian Island rock ptarmigan

Beringia as a high-latitude engine of avian speciation

Beringia is a biogeographically dynamic region that extends from northeastern Asia into northwestern North America. This region has affected avian divergence and speciation in three important ways: (i) by serving as a route for intercontinental colonisation between Asia and the Americas; (ii) by cyclically splitting (and often reuniting) populations, subspecies, and species between these continents; and (iii) by providing isolated refugia through glacial cycles. The effects of these processes can be seen in taxonomic splits of shallow to increasing depths and in the presence of regional endemics. We review the taxa involved in the latter two processes (splitting-reuniting and isolation), with a focus on three research topics: avian diversity, time estimates of the generation of that diversity, and the regions within Beringia that might have been especially important. We find that these processes have generated substantial amounts of avian diversity, including 49 pairs of avian subspecies or species whose breeding distributions largely replace one another across the divide between the Old World and the New World in Beringia, and 103 avian species and subspecies endemic to this region. Among endemics, about one in three is recognised as a full biological species. Endemic taxa in the orders Charadriiformes (shorebirds, alcids, gulls, and terns) and Passeriformes (perching birds) are particularly well represented, although they show very different levels of diversity through evolutionary time. Endemic Beringian Charadriiformes have a 1.31:1 ratio of species to subspecies. In Passeriformes, endemic taxa have a 0.09:1 species-to-subspecies ratio, suggesting that passerine (and thus terrestrial) endemism might be more prone to long-term extinction in this region, although such 'losses' could occur through their being reconnected with wider continental populations during favourable climatic cycles (e.g. subspecies reintegration with other populations). Genetic evidence suggests that most Beringian avian taxa originated over the past 3 million years, confirming the importance of Quaternary processes. There seems to be no obvious clustering in their formation through time, although there might be temporal gaps with lower rates of diversity generation. For at least 62 species, taxonomically undifferentiated populations occupy this region, providing ample potential for future evolutionary diversification.

How do seemingly non-vagile clades accomplish trans-marine dispersal? Trait and dispersal evolution in the landfowl (Aves: Galliformes)

Dispersal ability is a key factor in determining insular distributions and island community composition, yet non-vagile terrestrial organisms widely occur on oceanic islands. The landfowl (pheasants, partridges, grouse, turkeys, quails and relatives) are generally poor dispersers, but the Old World quail (Coturnix) are a notable exception. These birds evolved small body sizes and high-aspect-ratio wing shapes, and hence are capable of trans-continental migrations and trans-oceanic colonization. Two monotypic partridge genera, Margaroperdix of Madagascar and Anurophasis of alpine New Guinea, may represent additional examples of trans-marine dispersal in landfowl, but their body size and wing shape are typical of poorly dispersive continental species. Here, we estimate historical relationships of quail and their relatives using phylogenomics, and infer body size and wing shape evolution in relation to trans-marine dispersal events. Our results show that Margaroperdix and Anurophasis are nested within the Coturnix quail, and are each 'island giants' that independently evolved from dispersive, Coturnix-like ancestral populations that colonized and were subsequently isolated on Madagascar and New Guinea. This evolutionary cycle of gain and loss of dispersal ability, coupled with extinction of dispersive taxa, can result in the false appearance that non-vagile taxa somehow underwent rare oceanic dispersal.

Testing of microsatellite multiplexes for individual identification of Cape Parrots (Poicephalus robustus): paternity testing and monitoring trade

Background

Illegal trade in rare wildlife species is a major threat to many parrot species around the world. Wildlife forensics plays an important role in the preservation of endangered or threatened wildlife species. Identification of illegally harvested or traded animals through DNA techniques is one of the many methods used during forensic investigations. Natural populations of the South African endemic Cape Parrot (Poicephalus robustus) are negatively affected by the removal of eggs and chicks for the pet trade.

Methods

In this study, 16 microsatellite markers specifically designed for the South African endemic Cape Parrot (P. robustus) are assessed for their utility in forensic casework. Using these 16 loci, the genetic diversity of a subset of the captive Cape Parrot population was also assessed and compared to three wild Cape Parrot populations.

Results

It was determined that the full 16 locus panel has sufficient discriminatory power to be used in parentage analyses and can be used to determine if a bird has been bred in captivity and so can be legally traded or if it has been illegally removed from the wild. In cases where birds have been removed from the wild, this study suggests that a reduced 12 locus microsatellite panel has sufficient power to assign confiscated birds to geographic population of origin.

Discussion

The level of genetic diversity observed within the captive Cape Parrot population was similar to that observed in the wild populations, which suggests that the captive population is not suffering from decreased levels of genetic diversity. The captive Cape Parrots did however have double the number of private alleles compared to that observed in the most genetically diverse wild population. This is probably due to the presence of rare alleles present in the founder population, which has not been lost due to genetic drift, as many of the individuals tested in this study are F1–F3 wild descendants. The results from this study provide a suit of markers that can be used to aid conservation and law enforcement authorities to better control legal and illegal trade of this South African endemic.

Development and characterization of microsatellite loci for common raven (Corvus corax) and cross species amplification in other Corvidae

BACKGROUND

A priority for conservation is the identification of endemic populations. We developed microsatellite markers for common raven (Corvus corax), a bird species with a Holarctic distribution, to identify and assess endemic populations in Alaska.

RESULTS

From a total of 50 microsatellite loci, we isolated and characterized 15 loci. Eight of these loci were polymorphic and readily scoreable. Eighteen to 20 common ravens from Fairbanks, Alaska were genotyped showing the following variability: 3-8 alleles per locus, 0.25-0.80 observed heterozygosity (Ho), and 0.30-0.80 expected heterozygosity (He). All loci were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and linkage equilibrium and many loci amplified and were polymorphic in related taxa.

CONCLUSIONS

These loci will be used to identify endemic populations of common raven and assess their genetic diversity and connectivity.