Phylogeography of the white-throated dipper Cinclus cinclus in Europe

Cytochrome b gene sequence variation (902 bp) was used to investigate phylogenetic relationships and genetic differentiation among the four subspecies of European white-throated dipper Cinclus cinclus (Aves; Cinclidae). Six cytochrome b haplotypes were revealed, the most common one (H 13–4) was shared by all seven populations studied. Central European C. c. aquaticus was genetically more diverse than the other subspecies (although not significantly so, due to small sample sizes), whereas our sample of the nominate subspecies from the French Pyrenees showed no haplotype variation. Pairwise comparisons of the four subspecies showed significant genetic differentiation between the taxa except for a lack of differentiation of C. c. hibernicus versus C. c. aquaticus and C. c. cinclus. The genetic structure and the phylogeographic pattern were not related to the geographic distribution of the four subspecies thus disputing the validity of the current infraspecific taxonomy of C. cinclus at least in Europe.Béatrice Lauga and Christine Cagnon contributed equally to this paper.