Wildlife and Ecology Unit, Veterinary Genetics Laboratory, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2010 Jul;56(1):212-21. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2010.02.027. Epub 2010 Mar 1.
Investigations of regional genetic differentiation are essential for describing phylogeographic patterns and informing management efforts for species of conservation concern. In this context, we investigated genetic diversity and evolutionary relationships among great gray owl (Strix nebulosa) populations in western North America, which includes an allopatric range in the southern Sierra Nevada in California. Based on a total dataset consisting of 30 nuclear microsatellite DNA loci and 1938-base pairs of mitochondrial DNA, we found that Pacific Northwest sampling groups were recovered by frequency and Bayesian analyses of microsatellite data and each population sampled, except for western Canada, showed evidence of recent population bottlenecks and low effective sizes. Bayesian and maximum likelihood phylogenetic analyses of sequence data indicated that the allopatric Sierra Nevada population is also a distinct lineage with respect to the larger species range in North America; we suggest a subspecies designation for this lineage should be considered (Strix nebulosa yosemitensis). Our study underscores the importance of phylogeographic studies for identifying lineages of conservation concern, as well as the important role of Pleistocene glaciation events in driving genetic differentiation of avian fauna.
区域遗传分化的研究对于描述系统地理格局和为保护关注物种的管理工作提供信息至关重要。在这种情况下，我们调查了西北美大角鸮（Strix nebulosa）种群的遗传多样性和进化关系，其中包括加利福尼亚州内华达山脉南部的一个地理隔离种群。基于包含 30 个核微卫星 DNA 位点和 1938 个碱基对线粒体 DNA 的总数据集，我们发现，太平洋西北部采样群体在微卫星数据分析的频率和贝叶斯分析中得到了恢复，除了加拿大西部之外，每个采样种群都显示出最近种群瓶颈和低有效大小的证据。序列数据分析的贝叶斯和最大似然系统发育分析表明，地理隔离的内华达山脉种群相对于北美更大的物种范围也是一个独特的谱系；我们建议考虑将这个谱系指定为一个亚种（Strix nebulosa yosemitensis）。我们的研究强调了系统地理研究对于确定保护关注的谱系的重要性，以及更新世冰川事件在推动鸟类动物区系遗传分化方面的重要作用。
