Evidence of strong population bottleneck in genetics of endangered Brazilian Merganser (Mergus octosetaceus)

Maia, Thais Augusta; Campos, Davidson P.; Silva, L. R.; Lins, Lívia Vanucci; Ribeiro, Felipe; Sebaio, Fabiane; Rodrigues, Francisca; Dantas, Giovana

doi:10.1007/s10336-020-01747-y

Cited by 6 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 29 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…3) and DAPC (Fig. 4), corroborating previous genetic studies with mitochondrial and microsatellite markers 22,24 , which found greater similarity between PSC and APR populations when compared with PCV.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…Intensive eld studies have been done since the 1990's in the Serra da Canastra National Park, located in southeastern Brazil, where the largest population of the species has been recorded so far 13,14,18,19 . Furthermore, only four genetic studies of the Brazilian merganser were published so far by our research group 21,22,23,24 , showing preliminary data that indicate a low genetic diversity likely related to a recent bottleneck in the remaining populations. However, no genomic data has been used so far with conservation purposes for the remaining populations of Brazilian merganser.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Population genomics of the critically endangered Brazilian merganser

Santos

Campos

Júnior

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Brazilian merganser (Mergus octosetaceus) is one of the most endangered bird species in South America that comprises less than 250 mature individuals in the wild environments. This is a species extremely sensitive to environmental disturbances and restricted to few “pristine” freshwater habitats in Brazil, and it has been classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 1994. Understanding its current genetic diversity to promote in situ and ex situ management strategies was considered urgent for conservation of the remaining populations. To understand the evolutionary dynamics of remaining Brazilian merganser populations we have used "Genotyping by Sequencing" approach to characterize 923 SNPs in 31 individuals from all known areas of occurrence. The remaining populations of the Brazilian merganser present a low genetic diversity and high inbreeding levels likely due to recent population decline associated to habitat loss. Furthermore, it revealed a moderate level of genetic differentiation between all populations located in four separated areas of the highly threatened Cerrado biome. The results indicate that urgent actions for conservation of the species should be accompanied by a careful genetic monitoring to allow appropriate in situ and ex situ management to increase the long-term species survival in its natural environment.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population genomics of the critically endangered Brazilian merganser

Santos

Campos

Júnior

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The only extant merganser in the Southern Hemisphere—the critically endangered Brazilian merganser—is one of the rarest birds in the world, comprising only 250 wild individuals. It is split across three remnant populations in Brazil, but once had a more widespread historical distribution encompassing Argentina and Paraguay (Vilaca et al ., 2012; Maia et al ., 2020). The Brazilian merganser has undergone a significant population bottleneck, yet different remnant populations can still be genetically identified (Maia et al ., 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is split across three remnant populations in Brazil, but once had a more widespread historical distribution encompassing Argentina and Paraguay (Vilaca et al ., 2012; Maia et al ., 2020). The Brazilian merganser has undergone a significant population bottleneck, yet different remnant populations can still be genetically identified (Maia et al ., 2020). Like mergansers from the New Zealand region, the Brazilian merganser occupies riverine habitats, and often nests in tree cavities or rock crevasses (Vilaca et al ., 2012; Maia et al ., 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Brazilian merganser has undergone a significant population bottleneck, yet different remnant populations can still be genetically identified (Maia et al ., 2020). Like mergansers from the New Zealand region, the Brazilian merganser occupies riverine habitats, and often nests in tree cavities or rock crevasses (Vilaca et al ., 2012; Maia et al ., 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Ancient mitogenomes reveal evidence for the late Miocene dispersal of mergansers to the Southern Hemisphere

Rawlence,

Verry,

Cole

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mergansers are riverine and coastal piscivorous ducks that are widespread throughout North America and Eurasia but uncommon in the Southern Hemisphere. One species occurs in South America and at least two extinct species from New Zealand. It has been proposed that Southern Hemisphere mergansers were founded by independent dispersal events from the Northern Hemisphere. However, some morphological and behavioural evidence suggests that Southern Hemisphere mergansers may be closely related to one another. They share several characteristics that differ from Northern Hemisphere mergansers (e.g., non-migratory vs. migratory, sexual monochromatism vs. sexual dichromatism, long vs. short pair bonds). We sequenced complete mitogenomes from the Brazilian merganser and an extinct merganser from New Zealand—the Auckland Island merganser. Our results show the Brazilian and Auckland Island mergansers form a monophyletic clade with the common merganser, and that a sister relationship between Southern Hemisphere mergansers cannot be rejected. We cannot exclude the possibility that the Brazilian and Auckland Island mergansers descend from a single dispersal event from the Northern Hemisphere at least seven million years ago. Nuclear (palaeo)genomic data may help to resolve the relationship between living and extinct mergansers, including merganser fossils from New Zealand that have not been subjected to palaeogenetic analysis.

show abstract

Genetic diversity and shallow genetic differentiation of the endangered scaly‐sided merganser Mergus squamatus

Shen,

Gong,

Solovyeva

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Examining patterns of genetic diversity are crucial for conservation planning on endangered species, while inferring the underlying process of recent anthropogenic habitat modifications in the context potential long‐term demographic changes remains challenging. The globally endangered scaly‐sided merganser (SSME), Mergus squamatus, is endemic to a narrow range in Northeast Asia, and its population has recently been contracted into two main breeding areas. Although low genetic diversity has been suggested in the Russian population, the genetic status and demographic history of these individuals have not been fully elucidated. We therefore examined the genetic diversity and structure of the breeding populations of the SSME and investigated the relative importance of historical and recent demographic changes to the present‐day pattern of genetic diversity. Using 10 nuclear microsatellite (SSR) markers and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region sequences, we found limited female‐inherited genetic diversity and a high level of nuclear genetic diversity. In addition, analysis of both markers consistently revealed significant but weak divergence between the breeding populations. Inconsistent demographic history parameters calculated from mtDNA and bottleneck analysis results based on SSR suggested a stable historical effective population size. By applying approximate Bayesian computation, it was estimated that populations started to genetically diverge from each other due to recent fragmentation events caused by anthropogenic effects rather than isolation during Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and post‐LGM recolonization. These results suggest that limited historical population size and shallow evolutionary history may be potential factors contributing to the contemporary genetic diversity pattern of breeding SSME populations. Conservation efforts should focus on protecting the current breeding habitats from further destruction, with priority given to both the Russian and Chinese population, as well as restoring the connected suitable breeding grounds.

show abstract

Evidence of strong population bottleneck in genetics of endangered Brazilian Merganser (Mergus octosetaceus)

Cited by 6 publications

References 29 publications

Population genomics of the critically endangered Brazilian merganser

Population genomics of the critically endangered Brazilian merganser

Ancient mitogenomes reveal evidence for the late Miocene dispersal of mergansers to the Southern Hemisphere

Genetic diversity and shallow genetic differentiation of the endangered scaly‐sided merganser Mergus squamatus

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About