TY - JOUR
T1 - Strong Philopatry, Isolation by Distance, and Local Habitat Have Promoted Genetic Structure in Heermann’s Gull
AU - Mancilla-Morales, Misael Daniel
AU - Velarde, Enriqueta
AU - Aguilar, Andres
AU - Contreras-Rodríguez, Araceli
AU - Ezcurra, Exequiel
AU - Rosas-Rodríguez, Jesús A.
AU - Soñanez-Organis, José G.
AU - Ruiz, Enrico A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2022/2
Y1 - 2022/2
N2 - Philopatry can promote genetic differentiation among populations but remains un-described in many seabirds. Hence, we explored such associations in Heermann’s Gull. Philopatry was observed monitoring 998 gulls in Rasa Island, while genetic differences were examined in the Cardonosa, Rasa, and Isabel islands using the cytochrome b of 296 gulls. Adults returned repeatedly to its natal valley or to a very close distance from it under different modelled hypotheses. Likewise, the interaction between sex and distance indicated significant male-biased philopatry. Besides, low to high genetic differentiation was observed between the Rasa and Cardonosa islands (ΦST = 0–0.22) (both in the Midriff Islands Region), but higher genetic differentiation against Isabel Island (ΦST > 0.25) (in the Mexican Province region). Consistently, genetic structure among regions was observed using different approaches (AMOVA: ΦCT = 0.49; SAMOVA: FCT = 0.49; and BAPS: K = 2). Similarly, a pattern of isolation by distance (rM= 0.82, p = 0.03), agrees with lower estimates of scaled migration rates between regions than among islands of the same region. Overall, it is suggested that the genetic structure found in Heermann’s Gull has been promoted by physical and behavioral barriers.
AB - Philopatry can promote genetic differentiation among populations but remains un-described in many seabirds. Hence, we explored such associations in Heermann’s Gull. Philopatry was observed monitoring 998 gulls in Rasa Island, while genetic differences were examined in the Cardonosa, Rasa, and Isabel islands using the cytochrome b of 296 gulls. Adults returned repeatedly to its natal valley or to a very close distance from it under different modelled hypotheses. Likewise, the interaction between sex and distance indicated significant male-biased philopatry. Besides, low to high genetic differentiation was observed between the Rasa and Cardonosa islands (ΦST = 0–0.22) (both in the Midriff Islands Region), but higher genetic differentiation against Isabel Island (ΦST > 0.25) (in the Mexican Province region). Consistently, genetic structure among regions was observed using different approaches (AMOVA: ΦCT = 0.49; SAMOVA: FCT = 0.49; and BAPS: K = 2). Similarly, a pattern of isolation by distance (rM= 0.82, p = 0.03), agrees with lower estimates of scaled migration rates between regions than among islands of the same region. Overall, it is suggested that the genetic structure found in Heermann’s Gull has been promoted by physical and behavioral barriers.
KW - Dispersal
KW - Gene flow
KW - Genetic differentiation
KW - Larus heermanni
KW - Seabirds
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85124274097&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/d14020108
DO - 10.3390/d14020108
M3 - Artículo
AN - SCOPUS:85124274097
SN - 1424-2818
VL - 14
JO - Diversity
JF - Diversity
IS - 2
M1 - 108
ER -