Complex population structure of the Atlantic puffin revealed by whole genome analyses

Kersten, Oliver; Star, Bastiaan; Leigh, Deborah M.; Anker‐Nilssen, Tycho; Stroem, Hallvard; Danielsen, Jóhannis; Descamps, Sébastien; Erikstad, Kjell Einar; Fitzsimmons, Michelle G.; Fort, Jérôme; Hansen, Erpur Snær; Harris, Mike; Irestedt, Martin; Kleven, Oddmund; Mallory, Mark L.; Jakobsen, Kjetill S.; Boessenkool, Sanne

doi:10.1101/2020.11.05.351874

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 72 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In conclusion, our study underlines the importance of genetically informed management decisions by showing unexpected population structure as previously discovered in Iberian wolves, Peruvian diving-petrels, and Atlantic puffins, among others (Cristofari et al, 2019;Kersten et al, 2021;Silva et al, 2018). It most notably shows that land-and seascape genetics should go hand in hand because terrestrial organisms living close to the sea could be influenced by both.…”

Section: Conservation and Research Implicationssupporting

confidence: 69%

Low-coverage reduced representation sequencing reveals subtle within-island genetic structure in Aldabra giant tortoises

Çilingir

Hansen

Bunbury

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aldabrachelys gigantea (Aldabra giant tortoise) is one of only two giant tortoise species left in the world and survives as a single wild population of over 100,000 individuals on Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles. Despite this large current population size, the species faces an uncertain future because of its extremely restricted distribution range and high vulnerability to the projected consequences of climate change. Captive-bred A. gigantea are increasingly used in rewilding programs across the region, where they are introduced to replace extinct giant tortoises in an attempt to functionally resurrect degraded island ecosystems. However, there has been little consideration of the current levels of genetic variation and differentiation within and among the islands on Aldabra. As previous microsatellite studies were inconclusive, we combined low-coverage and double digest restriction associated DNA (ddRAD) sequencing to analyze samples from 33 tortoises (11 from each main island). Using 5,426 variant sites within the tortoise genome, we detected patterns of population structure within two of the three studied islands, but no differentiation between the islands. These unexpected results highlight the importance of using genome-wide genetic markers to capture higher-resolution genetic structure to inform future management plans, even in a seemingly panmictic population. We show that low-coverage ddRAD sequencing provides an affordable alternative approach to conservation genomic projects of non-model species with large genomes.

show abstract

Section: Conservation and Research Implicationssupporting

confidence: 69%

Low-coverage reduced representation sequencing reveals subtle within-island genetic structure in Aldabra giant tortoises

Çilingir

Hansen

Bunbury

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…grabae , and has led many to question the validity of Atlantic Puffin subspecies [ 22 , 23 ]. A recent study on population structure of the Atlantic Puffin using whole genome data [ 24 ] identified four population clusters that disagrees with the traditional view of three subspecies. This suggests that Atlantic Puffin taxonomy is more complicated than previously assumed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Size variation in mid-Holocene North Atlantic Puffins indicates a dynamic response to climate change

Walker

Meijer

2021

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Seabirds are one of the most at-risk groups, with many species in decline. In Scandinavia, seabirds are at a heightened risk of extinction due to accelerated global warming. Norway is home to significant portion of the European Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica) populations, but Norwegian populations have declined significantly during the last decades. In this paper we use biometric data from modern and archaeological F. arctica specimens to investigate patterns in body size variation over time of this iconic species. We aimed to set out a baseline for our archaeological comparison by firstly investigating whether modern subspecies of F. arctica are reflected in the osteological characters and are enough to distinguish subspecies from the bones alone. We then investigated if archaeological remains of F. arctica differ in size from the modern subspecies. Our results show that the subspecies Fratercula arctica naumanni was distinctly larger than the other subspecies. However, Fratercula arctica arctica and Fratercula arctica grabae were difficult to separate based on size. This generally supports ornithological observations. Post-Medieval F. arctica bones from Måsøy were similar to modern F. a. arctica populations. The mid-Holocene remains from Dollsteinhola overlaps with the modern size ranges of F. a. arctica and F. a. grabae but are generally shorter and more robust. Dollsteinhola is located close to the borders of the modern breeding ranges of both F. a. arctica and F. a. grabae. We consider it therefore likely that given the mid-Holocene climatic oscillations, breeding ranges of the two subspecies shifted north or south accordingly. However, this does not explain the different proportions of the Dollsteinhola specimens. Our data provide the first evidence for shifting distributions in ancient Atlantic Puffins and represent the first osteological analysis of Fratercula arctica subspecies.

show abstract

Complex population structure of the Atlantic puffin revealed by whole genome analyses

Cited by 2 publications

References 72 publications

Low-coverage reduced representation sequencing reveals subtle within-island genetic structure in Aldabra giant tortoises

Low-coverage reduced representation sequencing reveals subtle within-island genetic structure in Aldabra giant tortoises

Size variation in mid-Holocene North Atlantic Puffins indicates a dynamic response to climate change

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About