Movement and Genomic Methods Reveal Mechanisms Promoting Connectivity in a Declining Shorebird: The Lesser Yellowlegs
Integrating tracking technology and molecular approaches provides a comprehensive picture of contemporary and evolutionary mechanisms promoting connectivity. We used mitochondrial DNA and double digest restriction-site associated DNA (ddRAD) sequencing combined with satellite telemetry to investigat...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2023-04-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/5/595 |
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| author | Katherine Christie Robert E. Wilson James A. Johnson Christian Friis Christopher M. Harwood Laura A. McDuffie Erica Nol Sarah A. Sonsthagen |
| author_facet | Katherine Christie Robert E. Wilson James A. Johnson Christian Friis Christopher M. Harwood Laura A. McDuffie Erica Nol Sarah A. Sonsthagen |
| author_sort | Katherine Christie |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Integrating tracking technology and molecular approaches provides a comprehensive picture of contemporary and evolutionary mechanisms promoting connectivity. We used mitochondrial DNA and double digest restriction-site associated DNA (ddRAD) sequencing combined with satellite telemetry to investigate the connectivity of geographically disparate breeding populations of a declining boreal shorebird, the lesser yellowlegs (<i>Tringa flavipes</i>). We were able to track 33 individuals on their round-trip migrations to Central and South America and back to the boreal wetlands of North America. Nearly all (93%) adults captured on the breeding grounds returned to within 5 km of the original capture site, with a median dispersal distance of 629 m. While our telemetry data revealed limited breeding dispersal in adults, genetic data uncovered significant interconnectedness across the species’ range. Very little genetic structure was estimated at ddRAD autosomal (<i>Φ<sub>ST</sub></i> = 0.001), Z-linked (<i>Φ<sub>ST</sub></i> = 0.001), and mtDNA loci (<i>Φ<sub>ST</sub></i> = 0.020), and maximum likelihood-based clustering methods placed all individuals in a single cluster regardless of capture location, indicating the species is panmictic. Our data indicate that large-scale juvenile dispersal is the main mechanism maintaining connectivity in this species, resulting in the absence of genomic structure. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T03:47:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-227e2804b4084b1180b6061abfb16f1d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-2818 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T03:47:24Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diversity |
| spelling | doaj.art-227e2804b4084b1180b6061abfb16f1d2023-11-18T01:06:04ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182023-04-0115559510.3390/d15050595Movement and Genomic Methods Reveal Mechanisms Promoting Connectivity in a Declining Shorebird: The Lesser YellowlegsKatherine Christie0Robert E. Wilson1James A. Johnson2Christian Friis3Christopher M. Harwood4Laura A. McDuffie5Erica Nol6Sarah A. Sonsthagen7Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Threatened, Endangered and Diversity Program, Anchorage, AK 99518, USASchool of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583, USAU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Migratory Birds, Anchorage, AK 99503, USAEnvironment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service, Toronto, ON M3H 5T4, CanadaU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge, Fairbanks, AK 99701, USAU.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, AK 99508, USABiology Department, Trent University, Peterborough, ON K9L 0G2, CanadaU.S. Geological Survey, Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583, USAIntegrating tracking technology and molecular approaches provides a comprehensive picture of contemporary and evolutionary mechanisms promoting connectivity. We used mitochondrial DNA and double digest restriction-site associated DNA (ddRAD) sequencing combined with satellite telemetry to investigate the connectivity of geographically disparate breeding populations of a declining boreal shorebird, the lesser yellowlegs (<i>Tringa flavipes</i>). We were able to track 33 individuals on their round-trip migrations to Central and South America and back to the boreal wetlands of North America. Nearly all (93%) adults captured on the breeding grounds returned to within 5 km of the original capture site, with a median dispersal distance of 629 m. While our telemetry data revealed limited breeding dispersal in adults, genetic data uncovered significant interconnectedness across the species’ range. Very little genetic structure was estimated at ddRAD autosomal (<i>Φ<sub>ST</sub></i> = 0.001), Z-linked (<i>Φ<sub>ST</sub></i> = 0.001), and mtDNA loci (<i>Φ<sub>ST</sub></i> = 0.020), and maximum likelihood-based clustering methods placed all individuals in a single cluster regardless of capture location, indicating the species is panmictic. Our data indicate that large-scale juvenile dispersal is the main mechanism maintaining connectivity in this species, resulting in the absence of genomic structure.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/5/595<i>Tringa flavipes</i>genetic diversityborealconnectivityharvestshorebird |
| spellingShingle | Katherine Christie Robert E. Wilson James A. Johnson Christian Friis Christopher M. Harwood Laura A. McDuffie Erica Nol Sarah A. Sonsthagen Movement and Genomic Methods Reveal Mechanisms Promoting Connectivity in a Declining Shorebird: The Lesser Yellowlegs Diversity <i>Tringa flavipes</i> genetic diversity boreal connectivity harvest shorebird |
| title | Movement and Genomic Methods Reveal Mechanisms Promoting Connectivity in a Declining Shorebird: The Lesser Yellowlegs |
| title_full | Movement and Genomic Methods Reveal Mechanisms Promoting Connectivity in a Declining Shorebird: The Lesser Yellowlegs |
| title_fullStr | Movement and Genomic Methods Reveal Mechanisms Promoting Connectivity in a Declining Shorebird: The Lesser Yellowlegs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Movement and Genomic Methods Reveal Mechanisms Promoting Connectivity in a Declining Shorebird: The Lesser Yellowlegs |
| title_short | Movement and Genomic Methods Reveal Mechanisms Promoting Connectivity in a Declining Shorebird: The Lesser Yellowlegs |
| title_sort | movement and genomic methods reveal mechanisms promoting connectivity in a declining shorebird the lesser yellowlegs |
| topic | <i>Tringa flavipes</i> genetic diversity boreal connectivity harvest shorebird |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/5/595 |
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