Cytochrome-B Evidence for Validity and Phylogenetic Relationships of Pseudobulweria and Bulweria (Procellariidae)

Abstract

Although the genus Pseudobulweria was described in 1936 for the Fiji Petrel (Ps. macgillivrayi), its validity, phylogenetic relationships, and the number of constituent taxa it contains remain controversial. We tried to clarify these issues with 496 bp sequences from the mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene of 12 taxa representing three putative subspecies of Pseudobulweria, seven species in six other genera of the Procellariidae (fulmars, petrels, and shearwaters), and one species each from the Hydrobatidae (storm-petrels) and Pelecanoididae (diving-petrels). We also include published sequences for two other petrels (Procellaria cinerea and Macronectes giganteus ) and use Diomedea exulans and Pelecanus erythrorhynchos as outgroups. Based on the pronounced sequence divergence (5 to 5.5%) and separate phylogenetic history from other genera that have been thought to be closely related to or have been synonymized with Pseudobulweria, we conclude that the genus is valid, and that the Mascarene Petrel (Pseudobulweria aterrima) and the Tahiti Petrel (Ps. rostrata) are distinct species. In trees constructed with maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood, Pseudobulweria is the sister taxon to Puffinus and Calonectris, and these genera in turn are most closely related to Bulweria (and Procellaria in the maximum-parsimony tree). Pseudobulweria is not closely related to Pterodroma in either tree. Because Ps. r. trouessarti from New Caledonia, and Ps. r. rostrata from Polynesia differ by only 0.6%, these taxa do not deserve species status and should be regarded as valid subspecies.

Breeding Seabirds of Gambier Islands, Eastern Polynesia: Numbers and Changes during the 20th Century

“…Vocalisations from the birds of the Gambier suggested that they belong to the taxon rostrata. A genetic survey has shown also that birds from the Gambier and Tahiti were more similar to each other than either is to those of New Caledonia (Bretagnolle et al 1998). Birds from Gambier represent the southernmost and easternmost population of this species.…”

“…This new locality is c. 2000 km away from the breeding distribution of this little-known species. Calls differ between the subspecies rostrata and trouessarti (Bretagnolle et al 1998;VB unpubl. data), which argues for their taxonomic distinction (de Naurois & Erard 1979;Bretagnolle et al 1998).…”

“…Calls differ between the subspecies rostrata and trouessarti (Bretagnolle et al 1998;VB unpubl. data), which argues for their taxonomic distinction (de Naurois & Erard 1979;Bretagnolle et al 1998). Vocalisations from the birds of the Gambier suggested that they belong to the taxon rostrata.…”

Sensory ecology on the high seas: the odor world of the procellariiform seabirds

“…Conveniently for our needs, the procellariiformes have been the subject of several phylogenetic analyses (Bretagnolle et al, 1998;Imber, 1985;Kennedy and Page, 2002;Nunn and Stanley, 1998), and the underlying phylogenetic relationships between the subgroups are well researched. Using comparative methods, we found that burrow nesting was significantly correlated to DMS tracking (Dacey and Wakeham, 1986;Hill and Dacey, 2006).…”

Foraging segregation and genetic divergence between geographically proximate colonies of a highly mobile seabird

“…The solid line represents the Equator, while stippled lines represent, from south to north, the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer, and the Arctic Circle Oecologia range because we considered them most likely to display genetic and ecological differentiation. To investigate the genetic population structure, we sequenced the mitochondrial Cytochrome b gene, which has been widely used in genetic studies of procellariiforms (Austin et al 2004;Bretagnolle et al 1998;Nunn and Stanley 1998). To study potential variation in foraging ecology, we examined the stable isotope composition of flight feathers from hatchyear and adult petrels.…”