We examined sequences of the mitochondrial control region in magpies (Pica pica) from the entire distribution range and found deep genetic splits into four major lineages: (1) group West (Europe-Siberia), (2) group East (southern Far East), (3) P. p. mauritanica (North Africa), and (4) P. p. hudsonia (North America). These lineages show a geographic pattern corresponding to known subspecies or subspecies groups. Genetic variation within the widely-distributed group West is low and neutrality tests supported a recent expansion scenario. The haplotypes from Kamchatka, representing a separated sublineage with clear affinity to the European-Siberian group, are almost identical, implying a recent bottleneck. Group East contained two subclades without clear geographic pattern, presumably due to admixing of populations that had diverged in Pleistocene refuges. The homogeneity of the Kyushu population supports historical reports of introduction of the species from Korea. In contrast, the high variation in the recently established Hokkaido population may reflect an ongoing invasion from several populations of the Far Eastern mainland. Bioacoustic data based on chatter call differentiate groups of subspecies and reflect phylogeographic patterns, i.e., mitochondrial lineages. Furthermore, we report the fast spreading of P. p. jankowskii towards the west along the upper Amur River, and a slower shifting of P. p. leucoptera in the opposite direction thus yielding a new contact zone. Overall, our data support a scenario of divergence in geographic isolation, but the ongoing expansion of distribution ranges may lead to major changes in phylogeographic patterns.

BackgroundGenetic variation at the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) gene is correlated with melanin color variation in many birds. Feral pigeons (Columba livia) show two major melanin-based colorations: a red coloration due to pheomelanic pigment and a black coloration due to eumelanic pigment. Furthermore, within each color type, feral pigeons display continuous variation in the amount of melanin pigment present in the feathers, with individuals varying from pure white to a full dark melanic color. Coloration is highly heritable and it has been suggested that it is under natural or sexual selection, or both. Our objective was to investigate whether MC1R allelic variants are associated with plumage color in feral pigeons.FindingsWe sequenced 888 bp of the coding sequence of MC1R among pigeons varying both in the type, eumelanin or pheomelanin, and the amount of melanin in their feathers. We detected 10 non-synonymous substitutions and 2 synonymous substitution but none of them were associated with a plumage type. It remains possible that non-synonymous substitutions that influence coloration are present in the short MC1R fragment that we did not sequence but this seems unlikely because we analyzed the entire functionally important region of the gene.ConclusionsOur results show that color differences among feral pigeons are probably not attributable to amino acid variation at the MC1R locus. Therefore, variation in regulatory regions of MC1R or variation in other genes may be responsible for the color polymorphism of feral pigeons.

The "Flora of Russia" project on iNaturalist brought together professional scientists and amateur naturalists from all over the country. Over 10,000 people were involved in the data collection. Within 20 months, the participants accumulated 750,143 photo observations of 6,857 species of the Russian flora. This constitutes the largest dataset of open spatial data on the country’s biodiversity and a leading source of data on the current state of the national flora. About 87% of all project data, i.e. 652,285 observations, are available under free licences (CC0, CC-BY, CC-BY-NC) and can be freely used in scientific, educational and environmental activities.

Recent discovery of the Large-billed Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orinus) in museums and in the wild significantly expanded our knowledge of its morphological traits and genetic variability, and revealed new data on geographical distribution of the breeding grounds, migration routes and wintering locations of this species. It is now certain that A. orinus is breeding in Central Asia; however, the precise area of distribution remains unclear. The difficulty in the further study of this species lies in the small number of known specimens, with only 13 currently available in museums, and in the relative uncertainty of the breeding area and habitat of this species. Following morphological and genetic analyses from Svensson, et al, we describe 14 new A. orinus specimens from collections of Zoological Museums of the former USSR from the territory of Central Asian states. All of these specimens were erroneously labeled as Blyth's Reed Warbler (A. dumetorum), which is thought to be a breeding species in these areas. The 14 new A. orinus specimens were collected during breeding season while most of the 85 A. dumetorum specimens from the same area were collected during the migration period. Our data indicate that the Central Asian territory previously attributed as breeding grounds of A. dumetorum is likely to constitute the breeding territory of A. orinus. This rare case of a re-description of the breeding territory of a lost species emphasizes the importance of maintenance of museum collections around the world. If the present data on the breeding grounds of A. orinus are confirmed with field observations and collections, the literature on the biology of A. dumetorum from the southern part of its range may have to be reconsidered.

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