Marrero Patricia, Fregel Rosa, Richardson David S
Instituto de Productos Naturales y Agrobiología (IPNA-CSIC), Island Ecology and Evolution Research Group, La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain; School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, UK.
Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, Cell Biology and Genetics, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.
Zoology (Jena). 2024 Nov;167:126209. doi: 10.1016/j.zool.2024.126209. Epub 2024 Sep 14.
Islands provide excellent settings for studying the evolutionary history of species, since their geographic isolation and relatively small size limit gene flow between populations, and promote divergence and speciation. The endemic Bolle's Laurel Pigeon Columba bollii is an arboreal frugivorous bird species distributed on laurel forests in four islands of the Canary archipelago. To elucidate the population genetics, we genotyped ten microsatellite loci using DNA obtained from non-invasive samples collected across practically all laurel forest remnants, and subsequently grouped into eight sampling sites. Analyses including F-statistics, Bayesian clustering approaches, isolation by distance tests and population graph topologies, were used to infer the genetic diversity and the population differentiation within and among insular populations. Additionally, we evaluated the effect of null alleles on data analysis. Low genetic diversity was found in all populations of Bolle's Laurel Pigeon, with no significant differences in diversity among them. However, significant genetic differentiation was detected among all populations, with pigeons from La Palma and El Hierro exhibiting the closest affinity. Bayesian clustering supported population separation between islands, and also detected fine-scale structure within the Tenerife and La Gomera populations. Our results suggest that, despite columbids have a high movement ability, they can show signature of genetic divergence among populations, particularly on oceanic islands. Geological history of the islands and distribution range of habitats could have close influence on the evolutionary trajectories of these birds. This approach can provide practical tools to implement appropriate conservation measures for range-restricted species and their habitat.
岛屿为研究物种的进化历史提供了绝佳的环境，因为其地理隔离和相对较小的面积限制了种群间的基因流动，并促进了分化和物种形成。特有的博勒氏月桂鸽（Columba bollii）是一种树栖食果鸟类，分布于加那利群岛四个岛屿的月桂林中。为了阐明种群遗传学，我们使用从几乎所有月桂林残余地收集的非侵入性样本中获得的DNA，对10个微卫星位点进行了基因分型，随后将其分为8个采样点。包括F统计量、贝叶斯聚类方法、距离隔离检验和种群图拓扑结构在内的分析，被用于推断岛屿种群内部和之间的遗传多样性和种群分化。此外，我们评估了无效等位基因对数据分析的影响。在博勒氏月桂鸽的所有种群中都发现了低遗传多样性，它们之间的多样性没有显著差异。然而，在所有种群之间检测到了显著的遗传分化，来自拉帕尔马岛和耶罗岛的鸽子表现出最密切的亲缘关系。贝叶斯聚类支持岛屿之间的种群分离，并且还检测到了特内里费岛和戈梅拉岛种群内部的精细结构。我们的结果表明，尽管鸽类具有较高的移动能力，但它们在种群间仍可表现出遗传分化的特征，尤其是在海洋岛屿上。岛屿的地质历史和栖息地分布范围可能对这些鸟类的进化轨迹有密切影响。这种方法可以为实施针对分布范围受限物种及其栖息地的适当保护措施提供实用工具。
