0000000000001398
AUTHOR
Martin Päckert
Gene flow in the European coal tit, Periparus ater (Aves: Passeriformes): Low among Mediterranean populations but high in a continental contact zone
Abstract Extant phylogeographical patterns of Palearctic terrestrial vertebrates are generally believed to have originated from glacial range fragmentation. Post-Pleistocene range expansions have led to the formation of secondary contact zones among genetically distinct taxa. For coal tits (Periparus ater), such a contact zone has been localized in Germany. In this study, we quantified gene flow between Fennoscandian and southern European coal tits using a set of 13 microsatellite loci. STRUCTURE analysis revealed four genetic clusters, two occurring on Mediterranean islands. German populations were genetically admixed but introgression of southern alleles was evident for Fennoscandian popu…
Where is the line? Phylogeography and secondary contact of western Palearctic coal tits (Periparus ater: Aves, Passeriformes, Paridae)
In this study, a phylogeographic scenario of the coal tit (Periparus ater) was reconstructed based on a fragment of the mitochondrial control region, and within- and between-population genetic diversity was analysed with a focus on the western Palearctic breeding range. We inferred a first pan-European delimitation of a postulated secondary contact zone among coal tits from the north-eastern Palearctic ater subspecies group and those from the south-western Palearctic abietum group. Generally, between-population differentiation was greatest in the Mediterranean range, which was explained by a greater separation in multiple Pleistocene refuge areas compared to the lower differentiation across…
Improved sampling at the subspecies level solves a taxonomic dilemma – A case study of two enigmatic Chinese tit species (Aves, Passeriformes, Paridae, Poecile)
Abstract A recent full species-level phylogeny of tits, titmice and chickadees (Paridae) has placed the Chinese endemic black-bibbed tit (Poecile hypermelaenus) as the sister to the Palearctic willow tit (P. montanus). Because this sister-group relationship is in striking disagreement with the traditional affiliation of P. hypermelaenus close to the marsh tit (P. palustris) we tested this phylogenetic hypothesis in a multi-locus analysis with an extended taxon sampling including sixteen subspecies of willow tits and marsh tits. As a taxonomic reference we included type specimens in our analysis. The molecular genetic study was complemented with an analysis of biometric data obtained from mu…
The phylogenetic relationships of Przevalski's FinchUrocynchramus pylzowi, the most ancient Tibetan endemic passerine known to date
Competing systematic hypotheses have placed the Tibetan endemic Przevalski's Finch Urocynchramus pylzowi either with the Old World buntings (Emberizidae) or with the cardueline finches (Fringillidae, Carduelinae). Recent studies based on limited genetic evidence instead suggest an isolated position within Passeroidea and advocate a separate family, Urocynchramidae, as had been suggested much earlier on the grounds of morphology. We provide a time-calibrated multi-locus phylogeny for Passeroidea including Przevalski's Finch based on three mitochondrial markers and three nuclear introns that placed U. pylzowi in a clade together with Estrildidae, Viduidae and Ploceidae. A sister group relatio…
Ring species – Do they exist in birds?
Abstract According to current theory, the splitting of a single species into two is best observed by a ring of intergrading populations which occupy a ring-shaped distribution area and whose terminal populations not only meet but overlap and co-occur without or with only little hybridization. The three most discussed examples in birds are revisited here. The great tit complex ( Parus major s. l.) turned out to be an assemblage of four subspecies groups forming a secondary ring of population. The herring gull/lesser black-backed gull complex ( Larus argentatus s. l.) forms a circumpolar circle of intergrading populations, but lacks the crucial cornerstone, the geographical overlap. The green…
Return flight to the Canary Islands – The key role of peripheral populations of Afrocanarian blue tits (Aves: Cyanistes teneriffae) in multi-gene reconstructions of colonization pathways
Abstract Afrocanarian blue tits (Cyanistes teneriffae) have a scattered distribution on the Canary Islands and on the North African continent. To date, the Canary Islands have been considered the species’ main Pleistocene evolutionary center, but their colonization pathways remain uncertain. We set out to reconstruct a dated multi-gene phylogeny and ancestral ranges for Cyanistes tit species including the currently unstudied, peripheral Libyan population of C. t. cyrenaicae. In all reconstructions the most easterly and westerly peripheral populations (in Libya and on La Palma) represented basal offshoots of C. teneriffae. These two peripheral populations shared all four major indels and dif…
Correction: Phylogeny of the Eurasian Wren Nannus troglodytes (Aves: Passeriformes: Troglodytidae) reveals deep and complex diversification patterns of Ibero-Maghrebian and Cyrenaican populations
The Mediterranean Basin represents a Global Biodiversity Hotspot where many organisms show high inter- and intraspecific differentiation. Extant phylogeographic patterns of terrestrial circum-Mediterranean faunas were mainly shaped through Pleistocene range shifts and range fragmentations due to retreat into different glacial refugia. Thus, several extant Mediterranean bird species have diversified by surviving glaciations in different hospitable refugia and subsequently expanded their distribution ranges during the Holocene. Such a scenario was also suggested for the Eurasian Wren (Nannus troglodytes) despite the lack of genetic data for most Mediterranean subspecies. Our phylogenetic mult…
North African hybrid sparrows (Passer domesticus, P. hispaniolensis) back from oblivion – ecological segregation and asymmetric mitochondrial introgression between parental species
A stabilized hybrid form of the house sparrow (Passer domesticus) and the Spanish sparrow (P. hispaniolensis) is known as Passer italiae from the Italian Peninsula and a few Mediterranean islands. The growing attention for the Italian hybrid sparrow and increasing knowledge on its biology and genetic constitution greatly contrast the complete lack of knowledge of the long-known phenotypical hybrid sparrow populations from North Africa. Our study provides new data on the breeding biology and variation of mitochondrial DNA in three Algerian populations of house sparrows, Spanish sparrows, and phenotypical hybrids. In two field seasons, the two species occupied different breeding habitats: Spa…
Phylogeny of long-tailed tits and allies inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear markers (Aves: Passeriformes, Aegithalidae)
Abstract In this paper we provide a molecular phylogeny based on three mitochondrial and three nuclear markers for all long-tailed tit species of the genus Aegithalos including several doubtful subspecies (17 taxa) plus three close allies of SE Asian Leptopoecile and North American Psaltriparus . Genus Aegithalos is divided into three major clades, two of them showing only minor differentiation. Separation of two mitchondrial haploytpe clusters in the N Palearctic Long-tailed Tit, Ae. caudatus , was dated back to the Late Pleistocene, however, descendants from both lineages underwent a rapid post-Pleistocene range expansion and largely mixed over the entire distribution area. The Chinese po…
Lautäußerungen der Sommergoldhähnchen von den Inseln Madeira und Mallorca (Regulus ignicapillus madeirensis, R. i. balearicus)
Von den Inselpopulationen des Sommergoldhahnchens auf den Balearen (Mallorca),Regulus ignicapillus balearicus, und auf Madeira,R. i. madeirensis, wird die Struktur des Reviergesanges und der Rufe dargestellt. Ssp.madeirensis weicht in beiden markant von denen der Nominatform ab, ssp.balearicus nur im Strophenaufbau geringfugig. Die intra-und interindividuelle Variabilitat der Strophentypen ist bei ssp.balearicus hoher als auf dem Festland. Am Strophenende treten haufig Elementgruppen auf, die in Mitteleuropa fehlen. Seltene Elementtypen der Nominatform (ssp.ignicapillus) finden sich bei ssp.balearicus gehauft, ahnlich wie bei ssp.laeneni (Nordafrika). Drift-Effekte gelten als Ursachen fur d…
Genetic admixture despite ecological segregation in a North African sparrow hybrid zone (Aves, Passeriformes, Passer domesticus × Passer hispaniolensis)
Under different environmental conditions, hybridization between the same species might result in different patterns of genetic admixture. Particularly, species pairs with large distribution ranges and long evolutionary history may have experienced several independent hybridization events over time in different zones of overlap. In birds, the diverse hybrid populations of the house sparrow (Passer domesticus) and the Spanish sparrow (Passer hispaniolensis) provide a striking example. Throughout their range of sympatry, these two species do not regularly interbreed; however, a stabilized hybrid form (Passer italiae) exists on the Italian Peninsula and on several Mediterranean islands. The spa…
Pilot biodiversity assessment of the Hkakabo Razi passerine avifauna in northern Myanmar – implications for conservation from molecular genetics
SummaryThe Hkakabo Razi region located in northern Myanmar is an Important Bird Area and part of the Eastern Himalayan Biodiversity Hotspot. Within the framework of the World Heritage Convention to enlist the site under criterion (ix) and (x), we conducted a biodiversity assessment for passerine birds using DNA barcoding and other molecular markers. Of the 441 bird species recorded, we chose 16 target species for a comparative phylogeographic study. Genetic analysis was performed for a larger number of species and helped identifying misidentified species. We found phylogeographic structure in all but one of the 16 study species. In 13 species, populations from northern Myanmar were genetica…
Acoustic differentiation reflects mitochondrial lineages in Blyth's leaf warbler and white-tailed leaf warbler complexes (Aves: Phylloscopus reguloides, Phylloscopus davisoni)
The present study evaluated the degree of differentiation between closely-related species of Blyth's leaf warbler complex (Phylloscopus reguloides s.l.) and white-tailed leaf warbler complex (Phylloscopus davisoni s.l.) by molecular (cytochrome b and 16S rRNA) and bioacoustic markers (sonagraphic analysis of songs). Molecular phylogenetic results corroborate the recently suggested splittings of the two former taxa into three and two species, respectively. By contrast to previous opinion, differentiation of territorial songs parallels the genetic diversification in both groups. In the P. reguloides group, all recently established species can be distinguished by a characteristic song pattern.…
A multi-gene approach reveals a complex evolutionary history in the Cyanistes species group
Quaternary climatic oscillations have been considered decisive in shaping much of the phylogeographic structure around the Mediterranean Basin. Within this paradigm, peripheral islands are usually considered as the endpoints of the colonization processes. Here, we use nuclear and mitochondrial markers to investigate the phylogeography of the blue tit complex (blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus, Canary blue tit C. teneriffae and azure tit C. cyanus), and assess the role of the Canary Islands for the geographic structuring of genetic variation. The Canary blue tit exhibits strong genetic differentiation within the Canary Islands and, in combination with other related continental species, provides a…
Asymmetric allelic introgression across a hybrid zone of the coal tit (Periparus ater) in the central Himalayas*
Abstract In the Himalayas, a number of secondary contact zones have been described for vicariant vertebrate taxa. However, analyses of genetic divergence and admixture are missing for most of these examples. In this study, we provide a population genetic analysis for the coal tit (Periparus ater) hybrid zone in Nepal. Intermediate phenotypes between the distinctive western “spot‐winged tit” (P. a. melanolophus) and Eastern Himalayan coal tits (P. a. aemodius) occur across a narrow range of <100 km in western Nepal. As a peculiarity, another distinctive cinnamon‐bellied form is known from a single population so far. Genetic admixture of western and eastern mitochondrial lineages was restrict…
A molecular phylogeny of bullfinches Pyrrhula Brisson, 1760 (Aves: Fringillidae)
Abstract We present a molecular phylogeny of bullfinches (Pyrrhula Brisson, 1760) based on 2357 bp DNA sequence information of mitochondrial genes (cyt-b, 16S rRNA) and nuclear introns (fib-7, GAPDH-11). The genus is clearly a monophyletic group. Within the limits of Pyrrhula, molecular methods support the subdivision of three main groups: (1) “Southeast-Asian bullfinches” (P. nipalensis and P. leucogenis), (2) “Himalayan bullfinches” (P. aurantiaca, P. erythaca, P. erythrocephala), and (3) “Eurasian bullfinches” (P. pyrrhula s.l.). Within the last group there are four different subgroups: (3a) P. (p.) murina, (3b) P. (p.) cineracea, (3c) P. (p.) griseiventris, and (3d) P. pyrrhula s.str. T…
“Into and Out of” the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau and the Himalayas: Centers of origin and diversification across five clades of Eurasian montane and alpine passerine birds
Abstract Encompassing some of the major hotspots of biodiversity on Earth, large mountain systems have long held the attention of evolutionary biologists. The region of the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau (QTP) is considered a biogeographic source for multiple colonization events into adjacent areas including the northern Palearctic. The faunal exchange between the QTP and adjacent regions could thus represent a one‐way street (“out of” the QTP). However, immigration into the QTP region has so far received only little attention, despite its potential to shape faunal and floral communities of the QTP. In this study, we investigated centers of origin and dispersal routes between the QTP, its forested m…
Population differentiation in the marginal populations of the great tit (Paridae: Parus major)
The major subspecies group of the great tit, Parus major, has experienced demographic and spatial expansions during the last century in several sites at the edges of its distribution range. These expansions, although temporarily very even, have resulted in dissimilar patterns of molecular diversity. Populations locating at regions of contact to other subspecies groups (in Amur, Kirghizia–Kazakhstan, and Iran) show divergence from central population by nuclear and mitochondrial markers. In Amur, gene flow from minor group could be detected based on the existence of private minor alleles in the major population. In Kirghizia and Kazakhstan, the bokharensis and major groups share almost all th…
Taxonomic pitfalls in tits - comments on the Paridae chapter of the Handbook of the Birds of the World
In the last two decades, parid systematics and taxonomy have greatly benefited from the consistent application of detailed morphological, bioacoustic and molecular genetic methods. Continuously enlarged character sets, particularly in the latter field, helped to resolve a considerable number of taxonomic controversies, and in some cases a clear grouping of molecular markers (mitochondrial DNA) and vocalizations has enabled unambiguous assignment to taxonomic category. However, in our opinion some of these assignments were inadequately reflected in the species accounts of Handbook of the Birds of the World , vol. 12 (Gosler & Clement 2007). Here we point out what we consider to be major flaw…
Molecular phylogeny of Old World swifts (Aves: Apodiformes, Apodidae, Apus and Tachymarptis) based on mitochondrial and nuclear markers.
We provide a molecular phylogeny for Old World swifts of genera Apus and Tachymarptis (tribe Apodini) based on a taxon-complete sampling at the species level. Phylogenetic reconstructions were based on two mitochondrial (cytochrome b, 12S rRNA) and three nuclear markers (introns of fibrinogen and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase plus anonymous marker 12884) while the myoglobin intron 2 did not show any intergeneric variation or phylogenetic signal among the target taxa at all. In contrast to previous hypotheses, the two genera Apus and Tachymarptis were shown as reciprocally monophyletic in all reconstructions. Apus was consistently divided into three major clades: (1) East Asian cl…
Complete phylogeny and historical biogeography of true rosefinches (Aves:Carpodacus)
True rosefinches (Aves: Carpodacus) are restricted to Eurasia, and 19 out of 25 species occur in the Sino-Himalayas, making this the likely centre of origin. To test this hypothesis, suggested species splits had to be evaluated and potential further cryptic diversity unravelled. A taxon-complete dated molecular phylogeny was reconstructed using maximum-likelihood and Bayesian methods. Maximum-parsimony and likelihood approaches were applied to deduce ancestral areas. Rosefinches, including the widespread Carpodacus erythrinus (Pallas, 1770), originated in south-west China (and the Himalayas) 14 Mya, and gave rise to a smaller clade consisting of C. erythrinus, Haematospiza sipahi (Hodgson, …
Evolutionary history of treecreeper vocalisations (Aves: Certhia)☆
AbstractSince the vocalisations of passerine birds are in general a good means to separate taxa when external morphological differences are few, song and call recordings of 33 treecreeper (Certhia) taxa were sonagraphed and their parameters analysed. The vocalisations show low intra-individual and intra-population variation. Phylogenetic evolutionary units at the population level were delimited by time, frequency and syntax parameters by means of principal-component and discriminant analyses. Traits of territorial song were traced on a phylogenetic tree based on cytochrome b sequences, and a mean acoustic character difference was calculated. All presently recognised nine species could be di…
Horizontal and elevational phylogeographic patterns of Himalayan and Southeast Asian forest passerines (Aves: Passeriformes)
Aim Zoogeographic patterns in the Himalayas and their neighbouring Southeast Asian mountain ranges include elevational parapatry and ecological segregation, particularly among passerine bird species. We estimate timings of lineage splits among close relatives from the north Palaearctic, the Sino-Himalayan mountain forests and from adjacent Southeast Asia. We also compare phylogeographic affinities and timing of radiation among members of avian communities from different elevational belts. Location East Asia. Methods We reconstructed molecular phylogenies based on a mitochondrial marker (cytochrome b) and multilocus data sets for seven passerine groups: Aegithalidae, Certhiidae (Certhia),…
Mitochondrial heteroplasmy in an avian hybrid form (Passer italiae: Aves, Passeriformes)
Mitochondrial heteroplasmy is the result from biparental transmission of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to the offspring. In such rare cases, maternal and paternal mtDNA is present in the same individual. Though recent studies suggested that mtDNA heteroplasmy might be more common than previously anticipated, that phenomenon is still poorly documented and was mostly detected in case studies on hybrid populations. The Italian sparrow, Passer italiae is a homoploid hybrid form that occurs all across the Italian Peninsula mostly under strict absence of either of its parent species, the house sparrow (P. domesticus) and the Spanish sparrow (P. hispaniolensis). In this study, we document a new case o…
Data from: Gene flow in the European coal tit, Periparus ater (Aves: Passeriformes): low among Mediterranean populations but high in a continental contact zone
Extant phylogeographic patterns of Palearctic terrestrial vertebrates are generally believed to have originated from glacial range fragmentation. Post-Pleistocene range expansions have led to the formation of secondary contact zones among genetically distinct taxa. For coal tits (Periparus ater), such a contact zone has been localized in Germany. In this study, we quantified gene flow between Fennoscandian and southern European coal tits using a set of 13 microsatellite loci. STRUCTURE analysis revealed four genetic clusters two of these on Mediterranean islands. German populations were genetically admixed but introgression of southern alleles was evident for Fennoscandian populations. In t…