Faculty of Agriculture, Iwate University, Morioka, Iwate 020-8550, Japan,
Research and Education Centre for Natural Sciences, Keio University, Yokohama, Kanagawa 223-8521, Japan.
Zoolog Sci. 2024 Jun;41(3):257-262. doi: 10.2108/zs230094.
The grey-headed lapwing () is a wading species in East Asia. However, examples of regional population dynamics and genetic research are limited. To reconsider the natural history and current status of the grey-headed lapwing in Japan, we analyzed the genetic diversity of the Japanese grey-headed lapwing population. We collected 77 grey-headed lapwing samples from 12 locations across Japan during the breeding season and three individuals during the wintering season and extracted DNA; 496-bp sequences of the , which form part of the mitochondrial DNA, were determined for genetic analysis of the population. Consequently, 10 haplotypes were detected in 80 individuals, and 67 individuals, 84% of the total, shared two haplotypes, namely Vc1 and Vc2. Furthermore, the results showed that the prevalence of Vc1 was higher mainly in northern Japan, while that of Vc2 was higher mainly in southern Japan. Genetic diversity analysis showed that the overall haplotype diversity in Japan was 0.617, which is not particularly low. The sequence of Vc1 was exactly the same as that of grey-headed lapwing in China. Our study revealed the genetic structure of the grey-headed lapwing, suggesting that as the grey-headed lapwing expanded its distribution area into southern Japan, many Vc2-positive individuals migrated southward, resulting in a higher detection rate of Vc2 in southern Japan.
白头鹞（Vanellus cinereus）是东亚的一种涉禽。然而，有关其区域种群动态和遗传研究的例子有限。为了重新审视日本白头鹞的自然历史和现状，我们分析了日本白头鹞种群的遗传多样性。我们在繁殖季节于日本 12 个地点收集了 77 只白头鹞样本和 3 只冬季样本，并提取了 DNA；对种群进行遗传分析时，测定了 496-bp 的 序列，该序列是线粒体 DNA 的一部分。结果在 80 只个体中检测到 10 种单倍型，67 只个体（占总数的 84%）共享两种单倍型，即 Vc1 和 Vc2。此外，结果表明，主要在日本北部，Vc1 的流行率较高，而主要在日本南部，Vc2 的流行率较高。遗传多样性分析表明，日本的总体单倍型多样性为 0.617，并不算特别低。Vc1 的序列与中国的白头鹞完全相同。我们的研究揭示了白头鹞的遗传结构，表明随着白头鹞的分布范围扩展到日本南部，许多 Vc2 阳性个体向南迁移，导致日本南部 Vc2 的检测率较高。
