Cloning and characterization of 29 tetranucleotide and two dinucleotide polymorphic microsatellite loci from the endangered marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus)

Abstract

We developed 31 novel, polymorphic microsatellite loci in the marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus), a critically endangered seabird. Variability was tested on 15 individuals from the Santa Cruz, California population, with each locus characterized by two to 12 alleles. Observed levels of heterozygosity ranged from 0.13 to 0.93. These loci provide a valuable means of assessing the population structure and demographic parameters of this species, which may be critical to its conservation across a fragmented habitat.

Population biology of the wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) in the Crozet and Kerguelen archipelagos, southern Indian Ocean, approached through genetic and demographic methods

“…This is also true for other albatross species (Burg & Croxall, 2001; Abbott & Double, 2003 b ; Van Bekkum et al , 2006), which show lower microsatellite variability than most of the non‐procellariiform seabirds investigated in this respect (e.g. Ibarguchi et al , 2000; Given, Mills & Baker, 2002; Tirard, Helfenstein & Danchin, 2002; Lifjeld et al , 2005; Rew et al , 2006).…”

Characterizing Source–sink Dynamics With Genetic Parentage Assignments

“…However, reliable identification of parent-offspring dyads requires that sufficient loci are sampled so that unrelated pairs of individuals do not share an allele at all loci purely by chance; the more loci sampled, the lower the probability of a ''false positive.'' The level of polymorphism at 30 microsatellite loci developed for Marbled Murrelets by Rew et al (2006) was used to estimate the number of loci required to identify parent-offspring dyads with low uncertainty among a sample of 300 individuals. In doing so, we assume the level of polymorphism detected in 15 individuals genotyped by Rew et al (2006) was characteristic of the amount of genetic variation found in the entire population.…”

“…The level of polymorphism at 30 microsatellite loci developed for Marbled Murrelets by Rew et al (2006) was used to estimate the number of loci required to identify parent-offspring dyads with low uncertainty among a sample of 300 individuals. In doing so, we assume the level of polymorphism detected in 15 individuals genotyped by Rew et al (2006) was characteristic of the amount of genetic variation found in the entire population.…”

No evidence of divergence at neutral genetic markers between the two morphologically different subspecies of the most numerous Arctic seabird

“…For microsatellite genotyping, we tested 22 loci (with tetranucleotide motifs: BmaAAAC336, Bma‐ACCT555, BmaAGGT503, BmaATTT351, BmaCCAT301, BmaCCAT443, BmaGACA340, BmaGACA456, BmaGATA365, BmaGATA439, BmaGATA464, BmaGATA465, BmaGGAT313, BmaGGAT368, BmaTATC353, BmaTATC356, BmaTATC371, BmaTATC444, BmaTATC453, BmaTGAA523 and BmaCA382; and dinucleotide motif: BmaCA561), all originally developed for the Marbled Murrelet Brachyramphus marmoratus (Rew et al . ). We tested all loci with 5–10 samples from each population.…”