Strong Philopatry, Isolation by Distance, and Local Habitat Have Promoted Genetic Structure in Heermann’s Gull

Philopatry can promote genetic differentiation among populations but remains undescribed 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...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inDiversity (Basel) Vol. 14; no. 2; p. 108
Main Authors Mancilla-Morales, Misael Daniel, Velarde, Enriqueta, Aguilar, Andres, Contreras-Rodríguez, Araceli, Ezcurra, Exequiel, Rosas-Rodríguez, Jesús A., Soñanez-Organis, José G., Ruiz, Enrico A.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.02.2022
Subjects
Aquatic birds
Biogeography
Cytochrome b
Cytochromes
Differentiation
dispersal
gene flow
genetic differentiation
Genetic structure
Islands
Larus heermanni
Philopatry
Population genetics
Predation
seabirds
Valleys
Vegetation
Gulf of California
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Philopatry can promote genetic differentiation among populations but remains undescribed 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.
ISSN:1424-2818
1424-2818
DOI:10.3390/d14020108