Panmixia on a continental scale in a widely distributed colonial waterbird
REUDINK MW, KYLE CJ, NOCERA JJ, OOMEN RA, GREEN MC, SOMERS CM. 2011. Panmixia on a continental scale in a widely distributed colonial waterbird. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 102:583–592
Many highly mobile species, such as migratory birds, can move and disperse over long distances, yet exhibit highlevels of population genetic structuring. Although movement capabilities may enable dispersal, gene flow may berestricted by behavioural constraints such as philopatry. In the present study, we examined patterns of geneticdifferentiation across the range of a highly mobile, colonial waterbird. American white pelicans (Pelecanuserythrorhynchos) breed across continental North America and are currently experiencing a range expansion,especially on the eastern range limit. To assess patterns of genetic structuring, we sampled 333 individuals from19 colonies across their North American range. The use of ten variable microsatellite markers revealed high levelsof allelic richness with no population differentiation. Both Bayesian and frequentist approaches to examininggenetic structuring revealed a single panmictic population. We found no evidence of genetic structuring across theContinental Divide or between migratory and non-migratory colonies. The lack of any genetic structure across therange indicates that, unlike other waterbirds with similar life-history characteristics, extensive gene flow andpresumably low philopatry appear to preclude genetic differentiation. The lack of population genetic structure inAmerican white pelicans provides an example of range-wide panmixia, a rare phenomenon in any terrestrialspecies.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- REUDINK, MATTHEW; KYLE, CHRISTOPHER; NOCERA, JOSEPH; OOMEN, REBEKAH; GREEN, M; SOMERS, CHRISTOPHER
- Units
- GLAC , YELL
- Keywords
- American white pelican, avian studies, Continental Divide, Gene Flow, Genetic structure, microsatellite, Migration, panmixia, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos