Friday, November 02, 2007
Genetic Delineation of Western Hemisphere Snowy Plovers
In response to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service request, USGS geneticists W. Chris Funk, Thomas Mullins, and Susan Haig recently completed detailed genetic analyses of the three western hemisphere subspecies of snowy plovers. The Pacific Coast breeding population of this small shorebird is currently listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Results suggest that the Puerto Rican breeding group is genetically divergent from continental U.S. groups, and snowy plovers in South America constitute a separate subspecies. Further, Pacific Coast snowy plovers are not genetically distinct from Great Basin plovers, suggesting that there are no separate subspecies within the United States. Although there is a lack of genetic variation among U.S. snowy plovers, demographic isolation, effective local population size, unique habitats, and recent population declines all suggest these groups warrant special conservation concern.
Funk, W., Mullins, T.D., Haig, S.M., 2007, Conservation genetics of snowy plovers (Charadrius alexandrinus) in the Western Hemisphere- Population genetic structure and delineation of subspecies: Conservation Genetics, v. 8, p. 1287-1309. [FullText] Catalog No: 1563
Contact:
Susan
Haig,
FRESC,
541-750-7482,
susan_haig@usgs.gov
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