Conservation genetics and genetic mating system of the yellow-shouldered blackbird (Agelaius xanthomus), an endangered island endemic

Liu, Irene A.

doi:10.1007/s10592-015-0721-5

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…The profile of the Conaway Ranch Tricolored Blackbird population was most similar to that of the Bahamas Red-winged Blackbird population, although the former had significantly higher values for all measures (P for all pairwise comparisons < 0.01, Figure 1B). Lowest for all measures was the Yellow-shouldered Blackbird, which is expected given the low effective population size and endangered status of the species (Liu 2015). These rankings were supported by the rarefaction curve, which predicted that raw allelic diversity in the Conaway Ranch Tricolored Blackbird population approached a plateau above those of the Bahamas Red-winged Blackbird and Yellowshouldered Blackbird populations but well below the plateau of the continental Red-winged Blackbird populations ( Figure 1B).…”

Section: Genetic Diversitymentioning

confidence: 65%

“…We genotyped all individuals at 9 microsatellite loci (Table S1) following DNA amplification with the PCR profile described in Liu (2015). Of these loci, 5 were derived from Red-winged Blackbird (Barker et al 2011) and verified not to show ascertainment bias relative to the other 4 loci, originally identified in more distantly related species (Liu 2015). Plates were processed at Eton Bioscience Inc., and genotypes were scored with GeneMarker 1.8 (SoftGenetics) using size standard GS-500.…”

Section: Dna Extraction and Genotypingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We compare our estimates of allelic diversity, observed and expected heterozygosity, and the inbreeding coefficient with those in Berg et al (2010)'s conservation genetics analysis of 11 Tricolored Blackbird populations. We also compare allelic diversity, Shannon diversity, and expected heterozygosity with previously studied populations of 2 Agelaius congeners, Red-winged Blackbirds (A. phoeniceus) and Yellow-Shouldered Blackbirds, (A. xanthomus), that span a gradient of genetic diversity (Liu 2015;Liu et al 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The population of Yellow-shouldered Blackbirds, an endangered island endemic, was sampled in Puerto Rico in 2012. This population had the lowest genetic diversity and effective population size (Ne ~70) of all the reference populations(Liu 2015).…”

mentioning

confidence: 96%

“…These populations have the highest levels of genetic diversity and effective population sizes of all the reference populations (Pennsylvania, Ne ~430; Michigan, Ne ~infinity, either due to sampling error or a truly large population size not experiencing loss of heterozygosity) (Liu 2015). The third population was a sedentary population of Red-wingedBlackbirds on Grand Bahama Island, sampled in 2011, which had lower genetic diversity and a lower effective population size (Ne ~300) than the continental populations(Liu et al 2015;Liu 2015). The population of Yellow-shouldered Blackbirds, an endangered island endemic, was sampled in Puerto Rico in 2012.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Low genetic diversity in a population of Tricolored Blackbird (Agelaius tricolor), a species pending Endangered status

Liu

Meese²

2020

Preprint

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The Tricolored Blackbird (Agelaius tricolor) is a colonial songbird, found almost exclusively in California, whose total population size has sharply declined over the past century. It is currently under review to be listed as Endangered under both the California and U.S. Endangered Species Acts. Here we assess the genetic diversity of a breeding population in California's Central Valley, comparing our findings with previously sampled conspecific and congeneric populations. First, we genotyped 50 adults at 9 microsatellite loci in our focal population and estimated allelic and Shannon diversity, observed and expected heterozygosity, and the inbreeding coefficient (FIS). Second, we compared our results to those of the one existing study on Tricolored Blackbird conservation genetics and found that levels of allelic diversity and heterozygosity in our focal population were similar to those of 11 previously studied populations. Unlike the earlier study, which found moderately high mean inbreeding coefficients, we detected no evidence of inbreeding in our focal population. Third, we used 7 of the 9 loci to compare the genetic diversity of our focal population with populations of 2 previously sampled Agelaius congeners. We found that allelic diversity, Shannon diversity, and expected heterozygosity in our Tricolored Blackbird population were most similar to those of an isolated Red-winged Blackbird (A. phoeniceus) population in the Bahamas. We discuss possible reasons for the different results from the conspecific study, outline why the collective findings from both studies support the need for protective measures, and urge conservation action to maintain existing genetic diversity and gene flow before ongoing population losses lead to adverse fitness consequences.

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Section: Genetic Diversitymentioning

confidence: 65%

Section: Dna Extraction and Genotypingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 96%

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confidence: 99%

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