Dramatic intraspecific differences in migratory routes,stopover sites and wintering areas,revealed using light-level geolocators

Migratory divides are contact zones between breeding populations that use divergent migratory routes and have been described in a variety of species. These divides are of major importance to evolution, ecology and conservation but have been identified using limited band recovery data and/or indirect methods. Data from band recoveries and mitochondrial haplotypes suggested that inland and coastal Swainson''s thrushes (Catharus ustulatus) form a migratory divide in western North America. We attached light-level geolocators to birds at the edges of this contact zone to provide, to our knowledge, the first direct test of a putative divide using data from individual birds over the entire annual cycle. Coastal thrushes migrated along the west coast to Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. Some of these birds used multiple wintering sites. Inland thrushes migrated across the Rocky Mountains, through central North America to Columbia and Venezuela. These birds migrated longer distances than coastal birds and performed a loop migration, navigating over the Gulf of Mexico in autumn and around this barrier in spring. These findings support the suggestion that divergent migratory behaviour could contribute to reproductive isolation between migrants, advance our understanding of their non-breeding ecology, and are integral to development of detailed conservation strategies for this group.     

Genetic, morphological, and feather isotope variation of migratory willow warblers show gradual divergence in a ring

The circular distribution of the willow warbler Phylloscopus trochilus around the Baltic Sea shares many features with the classic examples of ring species; however, the system is much younger. It has previously been shown that a secondary contact zone is located in central Scandinavia, where there are narrow clines for several morphological traits coincident with a migratory divide. Here we analyse multiple traits and genes from > 1700 males captured on breeding territories at 77 sites spread around the Baltic Sea to test the following hypothesis. If the secondary contact zone in Scandinavia is a result of divergence in two allopatric refuge populations during the last glaciation, we expect to find a similar secondary contact zone somewhere else around the circular distribution. Our results show that the trait clines were wider and displaced from each other along the eastern side of the Baltic Sea. Analyses of 12 microsatellite loci confirmed that the genome is very similar between the terminal forms ( F _ST = 0). Two AFLP-derived markers filtered out from a genomic scan instead appear to be maintained by selection. These markers exhibited steep clines at the secondary contact zone in Scandinavia, but as for the phenotypic traits, had vastly different cline centres east of the Baltic Sea. The trait clines along the ring distribution outside the Scandinavian secondary contact zone thus seem to have been shaped by independent action of selection or drift during the process of postglacial colonization.     

SE- and SW-migrating Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) populations in Central Europe: Orientation of birds in the contact zone

In the Blackcap (Aves: Sylvia atricapilla), a widespread passerine noctural migrant, a “migratory divide” between SE- and SW-migrating populations exists in Central Europe at about 14° E and south of 52° N. The autumn migratory directions are known to have a genetic basis and are expressed in orientation cages in captivity. Migratory directions of birds in the contact zone between the two populations were studied by analysing ringing data and by testing three groups of hand-raised individuals in orientation cages. Available ringing data are insufficient to establish migratory directions in the contact zone north of the Alps. Hand-raised birds from south-west Germany and the most eastern part of Austria oriented SW and SE, respectively, confirming directions known from ringing recoveries. A sample of birds from the contact zone near Linz (Austria) oriented SW to NW (mean = 268°) and was significantly different from both adjoining populations. This contrasts with results of a cross-breeding experiment with mixed pairs of SW- and SE-migrants bred in captivity: The F1-offspring chose southerly directions, intermediate between both parental populations (Helbig, 1991). It is suggested, therefore, that a distinct subpopulation with a large fraction of birds wintering in the British Isles has established itself in the contact zone. Differences in directional choices between groups of siblings from this area indicate that intrapopulation genetic variability is present. This may have led to a rapid spread of the novel W-NW migratory direction, because north of the Alps strong selection seems to be acting against mixing of SE- with SW-migrating populations.     

Phenotypic divergence during speciation is inversely associated with differences in seasonal migration

Differences in seasonal migration might promote reproductive isolation and differentiation by causing populations in migratory divides to arrive on the breeding grounds at different times and/or produce hybrids that take inferior migratory routes. We examined this question by quantifying divergence in song, colour, and morphology between sister pairs of North American migratory birds. We predicted that apparent rates of phenotypic differentiation would differ between pairs that do and do not form migratory divides. Consistent with this prediction, results from mixed effects models and Ornstein–Uhlenbeck models of evolution showed different rates of divergence between these groups; surprisingly, differentiation was greater among non-divide pairs. We interpret this finding as a result of variable rates of population blending and fusion between partially diverged forms. Ancient pairs of populations that subsequently fused are now observed as a single form, whereas those that did not fuse are observable as pairs and included in our study. We propose that fusion of two populations is more likely to occur when they have similar migratory routes and little other phenotypic differentiation that would cause reproductive isolation. By contrast, pairs with migratory divides are more likely to remain reproductively isolated, even when differing little in other phenotypic traits. These findings suggest that migratory differences may be one among several isolating barriers that prevent divergent populations from fusing and thereby increase the likelihood that they will continue differentiating as distinct species.     

Genetic structure among continental and island populations of gyrfalcons

Little is known about the possible influence that past glacial events have had on the phylogeography and population structure of avian predators in the Arctic and sub-Arctic. In this study, we use microsatellite and mitochondrial control region DNA variation to investigate the population genetic structure of gyrfalcons (Falco rusticolus) throughout a large portion of their circumpolar distribution. In most locations sampled, the mtDNA data revealed little geographic structure; however, five out of eight mtDNA haplotypes were unique to a particular geographic area (Greenland, Iceland, or Alaska) and the Iceland population differed from others based on haplotype frequency differences (F(ST)). With the microsatellite results, significant population structure (F(ST), principal components analysis, and cluster analysis) was observed identifying Greenland and Iceland as separate populations, while Norway, Alaska and Canada were identified as a single population consistent with contemporary gene flow across Russia. Within Greenland, differing levels of gene flow between western and eastern sampling locations was indicated with apparent asymmetric dispersal in western Greenland from north to south. This dispersal bias is in agreement with the distribution of plumage colour variants with white gyrfalcons in much higher proportion in northern Greenland. Lastly, because the mtDNA control region sequence differed by only one to four nucleotides from a common haplotype among all gyrfalcons, we infer that the observed microsatellite population genetic structure has developed since the last glacial maximum. This conclusion is further supported by our finding that a closely related species, the saker falcon (Falco cherrug), has greater genetic heterogeneity, including mtDNA haplotypes differing by 1-16 nucleotide substitutions from a common gyrfalcon haplotype. This is consistent with gyrfalcons having expanded rapidly from a single glacial-age refugium to their current circumpolar distribution. Additional sampling of gyrfalcons from Fennoscandia and Russia throughout Siberia is necessary to test putative gene flow between Norway and Alaska and Canada as suggested by this study.     

2009年我国小菜蛾迁飞路径典型案例分析

小菜蛾Plutella xylostella Linnaeus是一种世界性的十字花科蔬菜重要害虫,具有远距离迁飞的特性,明确小菜蛾在我国的种群发生动态及迁飞路径对其早期预警具有重要意义.本文调查了2009年5月我国南京、故城、安阳、大连、公主岭、沈阳6个地区小菜蛾成虫种群的发生动态,并首次利用HYSPLIT平台对不同地区小菜蛾种群的迁飞峰次进行了轨迹分析.结果表明,2009年5月我国6个地区的小菜蛾成虫种群存在显著地“突增”或“突减”现象,符合迁飞昆虫在迁飞期的种群动态的典型特征;5月14日南京地区起飞的小菜蛾种群可迁飞至大连,5月19日故城地区起飞的小菜蛾种群可迁飞至公主岭,5月20日安阳地区起飞的小菜蛾种群可迁飞至沈阳;首次明确了小菜蛾轨迹分析的设定参数,800-1200 m为小菜蛾适宜迁飞的飞行高度,飞行持续时间一般为2-3d.     

Geographic limits of a clonal population of wheat yellow rust in the Mediterranean region

Most plant pathogens present complex life cycles, in which the clonal reproduction may impede the delimitation of population entities. By studying the genetic structure of the wheat yellow rust caused by Puccinia striiformis f.sp. tritici (PST), we highlighted difficulties impeding population delimitation in highly clonal species. Despite the high dispersal potential of PST, southern France isolates were shown to be divergent from a northwestern European population. A 2-year survey was performed in the Mediterranean region to assess the geographic distribution of southern isolates: 453 isolates collected in 11 countries were genotyped using 15 simple sequence repeat markers. A subsample was analysed for virulence against 23 resistance genes. The dominant strain in the western Mediterranean region was further studied with amplified fragment length polymorphism markers to test for a geographic substructure. Both 'individual'- and 'population'-centred analyses of polymorphism markers revealed two south-specific groups: a predominant group, with a broad variability and a wide distribution in both western and eastern Mediterranean countries, and a minor group in the western Mediterranean. The east–west gradient of genetic diversity suggested gene flow from the Middle East with subsequent founder effects and genetic divergence, and demonstrated the local survival of a western Mediterranean population. The high frequency of the resistance gene Yr8 observed in cultivars from Tunisia and Algeria may contribute to maintain the north/south structure observed in France. In addition to migration and local adaptation, the dynamics of clonal lineage diversification and replacement should be considered to define population entities in strongly clonal species.     

Genetic analysis reveals population structure and recent migration within the highly fragmented range of the Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli)

Recently developed methods of individual-based analysis of genetic data allow an unprecedented opportunity to understand the relationships among fragmented populations. By defining population structure and identifying migrant individuals, such analyses can provide a framework to aid in evaluating the threats posed by inbreeding and reduced genetic variability as a consequence of limited gene flow among fragments. Here we investigate population structure in the critically endangered Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli) by applying a suite of individual-based analyses to data obtained from between one-quarter and one-third of the estimated total population through the use of noninvasively collected DNA samples. The population structure inferred using data from 11 autosomal microsatellite loci was broadly consistent with geography and habitat fragmentation, but showed no simple isolation-by-distance effects. In contrast to previous field surveys, which suggested that all gorilla localities were isolated from one another, we infer low levels of gene flow and identify migrants between habitat fragments as well as individuals of admixed ancestry, suggesting persistent recent reproductive contact between many of the localities. These results are encouraging for the conservation of the Cross River gorilla population. Conservation efforts should strive to maintain connectivity between subpopulations that are still in migratory contact and attempt to restore connectivity where it has been lost.