Phylogenetic relationships of gadfly petrels Pterodroma spp. from the Northeastern Atlantic Ocean: molecular evidence for specific status of Bugio and Cape Verde petrels and implications for conservation

Abstract

SummaryIt is widely accepted that the gadfly petrels of the Macaronesian islands comprise three closely related and morphologically similar taxa, Petrodroma madeira from Madeira island, P. deserta (also treated as P. feae deserta) from Bugio and P. feae (also treated as P. feae feae) from Cape Verde Islands. However, the taxonomic rank of each taxon is not well defined, and has been subject to a long debate. Partial sequences of cytochrome b (893 bp) from 39 individuals (five from Madeira, 18 from nearby Bugio, and 16 from Fogo) and morphometric data from five characters from 102 individuals (74 from Bugio and 28 from Fogo in Cape Verde), were used to compare and estimate phylogenetic relationships and the taxonomic status of these petrels. In the phylogenetic analysis and sequence divergence estimation, we also include 23 sequences of 19 Pterodroma species available from GenBank. Our results show that Macaronesian gadfly petrels form a monophyletic clade. Birds from Bugio and Cape Verde are the most closely related taxa followed by those from Madeira. The group formed by the three taxa studied is closely related to Bermuda Petrel P. cahow and Black-capped Petrel P. hasitata. A hypothesis for the colonization of the islands is presented. The level of sequence divergence is sufficient to consider the populations of Bugio and Cape Verde as separate species. Reproductive isolation is supported by exclusive haplotypes and fixed changes. Despite the presence of some significant differences in bill and tarsus measurements, the two species seem to be morphologically similar because the great overlap of variation intervals in the measurements hinders identification. It therefore appears suitable for consideration as a cryptic species. An important conservation implication is that the world population of both species is very small; if treated as a full species, deserta on Bugio may qualify for uplisting to 'Vulnerable' on the IUCN Red List.

The complete phylogeny of Pseudobulweria, the most endangered seabird genus: systematics, species status and conservation implications

“…All primers were designed for this study, except for L14987/H16025 from Jesus et al (2009) Conserv Genet (2012) 13:39-52 43 . Since bFibint7 lacks a well calibrated substitution rate, we did not enter this parameter.…”

Year-round distribution and habitat preferences of the Bugio petrel

“…One of the rarest Pterodroma species in the world is the Bugio petrel P. deserta (see Jesus et al 2009 regarding the genetic separation of this species),), a medium-sized pelagic seabird that breeds only on the south plateau of Bugio island, one of the 3 islands that form the Desertas archipelago (Madeira). This bird has only recently been monitored extensively thanks to the efforts led by the Madeiran Natural Park authorities and the support of several institutions, such as the Portuguese BirdLife Partner, SPEA.…”

Late Holocene range collapse in a former British seabird species

“…Pterodroma hypoleuca was used as the outgroup following Jesus et al . (). Connection lengths and alternative links for a minimum‐spanning network of haplotypes from sister taxa were generated in Arlequin (Excoffier et al ., ).…”