Phylogeography of the blue tit (Parus teneriffae-group) on the Canary Islands based on mitochondrial DNA sequence data and morphometrics

Abstract

An analysis of the sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene (1005 bp) of the Parus teneriffaegroup from the Canary Islands and North Africa revealed new insights into the phylogeography of this taxon. The origin of the radiation on the Canarian Archipelago was apparently one of the central islands-Tenerife or Gran Canaria. The populations on El Hierro (P. t. ombriosus) and La Palma (P. t. palmensis) represent distinct monophyletic lineages. Blue tits from Gran Canaria are genetically distinct from those of La Gomera and Tenerife (P. t. teneriffae), which supports the results of other studies and suggests the existence of an-until now-undescribed taxon there. In contrast, the populations on the eastern islands of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote (P. t. degener) could not be distinguished from North African blue tits (P. t. ultramarinus), and these populations should be subsumed under the subspecies ultramarinus. Taxonomic recommendations based on these results include the distinction of the northern European P. caeruleus from P. teneriffae, including blue tits from North Africa and the Canary Islands, the treatment of degener and ultramarinus as synonymous (P. teneriffae ultramarinus) and a new blue tit taxon on the island of Gran Canaria (P. t. hedwigii nov. ssp.), which is formally described. The genetic results are in parts supported by bioacoustic and morphological data.

Use of mitochondrial and nuclear genes to infer the origin of two endemic pigeons from the Canary Islands

“…Possibly due to recent colonizations of the Canary Islands, little genetic divergence compared to the African mainland have been found in taxa such as the Atlantic Canary (Serinus canaria) (Dietzen et al 2005), the Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) and the Sardinian Warbler (S. melanocephala) (Dietzen et al 2008a), while subspecies of Blue Tit (Parus teneriffae degener) (Kvist et al 2005), did not differ genetically from P. t. ultramarinus (Dietzen et al 2008b), and nor were there differences between subspecies of Southern Grey Shrike (Lanius meridionalis) (Gonzalez et al 2008) or Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) (Garciadel-Rey et al 2007). During the last *3 My, other Canarian taxa have also followed probable multiple colonizations, e.g.…”

Pronounced Fixation, Strong Population Differentiation and Complex Population History in the Canary Islands Blue Tit Subspecies Complex

“…The subspecies ultramarinus is also found in North Africa, whereas ogliastrae occurs in Spain and caeruleus in Sweden. In Kvist et al [15], the birds on Fuerteventura and Lanzarote were separated from North Africa and put into a separate subspecies, degener , but the newer data indicate that this may not be the case [16], [17]. The subspecies categorisation of Dietzen et al [17] is shown on the map in Figure 1 .…”

Evidence from DNA nucleotide sequences and ISSR profiles indicates paraphyly in subspecies of the Southern Grey Shrike (Lanius meridionalis)

“…Since we did not find evidence to distinguish L. m. koenigi from L. m. algeriensis, these two taxa may be considered as synonymous, and they together correspond to a different species. Although the evolutionary histories of different bird species differ in terms of mode and timing, low levels of genetic divergence have been found in other taxa inhabiting the Canary Islands and Africa, e.g., in Sylvia (Dietzen et al 2007b) and in subspecies of the genus Parus (Dietzen et al 2007a). However, only one sample of L. m. algeriensis was available and, due to shortage of DNA, we could only sequence the cytochrome b gene.…”

“…In the course of recent years, numerous new endemic species of vertebrates in the Canary Islands have been described based on the utilization of molecular techniques (Delgado 2001). Recent studies applied molecular markers in closely related and morphologically very similar bird taxa and have proved to be useful tools to elucidate genetic variability and phylogenetic relationships (Garcia-del-Rey et al 2007;Päckert et al 2006;Dietzen et al 2007a).…”