Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-2008

Publication Title

Condor

Publisher

Cooper Ornithological Society

Volume

110

Issue

1

First page number:

170

Last page number:

177

Abstract

The Great-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus) and Boat-tailed Grackle (Q. major) are sister species that have expanded their ranges during historical times. This expansion has created an area of sympatry between these species in Texas and Louisiana, and between distinctive Great-tailed Grackle subspecies in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. We investigated the evolutionary histories of both species using mitochondrial DNA sequence data and modern phylogenetic methods. Our results reveal genetic structure within Great-tailed, but not Boat-tailed Grackles. Great-tailed Grackles are separated into two clades, but range expansion in the north has led to secondary contact between them. Boat-tailed Grackles are monophyletic and are embedded within the Great-tailed Grackle assemblage, rendering the latter paraphyletic. These results reveal a complex phylogeographic pattern caused by recent range expansion and secondary contact of once allopatric units.

Keywords

Great-tailed Grackle; Molecular genetics; Phylogeography; Phylogeny; Quiscalus mexicanus

Controlled Subject

Bird populations--Research; Grackles; Molecular genetics;

Disciplines

Evolution | Molecular Genetics | Ornithology | Population Biology

File Format

pdf

File Size

1400 KB

Language

English

Permissions

Copyright Cooper Ornithological Society, used with permission.

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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