10.5061/DRYAD.73N69M01
Liu, Yang
University of Bern
Keller, Irene
Department of Fish Ecology and Evolution, Eawag, Kastanienbaum, Switzerland
Heckel, Gerald
University of Bern
Data from: Breeding site fidelity and winter admixture in a long-distance
migrant, the tufted duck (Aythya fuligula)
Dryad
dataset
2012
bird flu
Aythya fuligula
bird migration
Ducks
2006-2010
2012-07-20T17:28:35Z
2012-07-20T17:28:35Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.2012.19
126139 bytes
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CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Long-distance migrants are, by definition, highly mobile but it is poorly
understood if this leads to high rates of gene flow and an essentially
panmictic global population structure. Genetic divergence in migratory
species could be promoted, for example, by fidelity to distinct migratory
pathways. In this study, we investigate the population genetic structure
of tufted duck (Aythya fuligula), a long-distance migrant with a largely
continuous breeding distribution across Eurasia. Distinct, longitudinally
oriented flyways have been postulated based on geographically disjunct
wintering areas and are supported by evidence from ringing data. We
generated sequences of the mitochondrial control region and multi-locus
microsatellite genotypes for several hundreds of samples from the European
and Asian breeding and wintering grounds including some individuals
infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1. Significant
differentiation between breeding sites was observed for both marker types,
but F_ST values were approximately 10 times higher for maternally
inherited mitochondrial DNA than for biparentally transmitted nuclear
markers. The genetic differentiation between the postulated European and
Asian flyways was similar to that observed within continents and, in
general, genetic divergence was not associated with geographic distance.
Neither marker type showed evidence of genetic substructure among
aggregations on the European wintering grounds. Our results suggest some
breeding site fidelity, especially in females, but extensive population
admixture on the wintering grounds. Several scenarios may explain the
observed lack of genetic divergence between Europe and Asia including
non-equilibrium conditions following a recent range expansion or
contemporary gene flow across the postulated migratory divides.
Aythya fuligula genotypesMicrosatellite genotype dataset (“Aythya fuligula
genotypes.xlsx”)
Eurasia