Comparative phylogeographic analysis suggests a shared history among eastern North American boreal forest birds
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Date
2021
Authors
Ralston, Joel
FitzGerald, Alyssa M.
Burg, Theresa M.
Starkloff, Naima C.
Warkentin, Ian G.
Kirchman, Jeremy J.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Oxford Academic
Abstract
Phylogeographic structure within high-latitude North American birds is likely shaped by a history of isolation in refugia
during Pleistocene glaciations. Previous studies of individual species have come to diverse conclusions regarding
the number and location of likely refugia, but no studies have explicitly tested for biogeographic concordance in a
comparative phylogeographic framework. Here we use a hierarchical approximate Bayesian computation analysis of
mitochondrial DNA sequences from 653 individuals of 6 bird species that are currently co-distributed in the boreal
forest of North America to test for biogeographic congruence. We find support for congruent phylogeographic patterns
across species, with shallow divergence dating to the Holocene within each species. Combining genetic results with
paleodistribution modeling, we propose that these species shared a single Pleistocene refugium south of the ice sheets
in eastern North America. Additionally, we assess modern geographic genetic structure within species, focusing on
Newfoundland and disjunct high-elevation populations at the southern periphery of ranges. We find evidence for a
“periphery effect” in some species with significant genetic structure among peripheral populations and between
peripheral and central populations. Our results suggest that reduced gene flow among peripheral populations, rather
than discordant biogeographic histories, can explain the small differences in genetic structure and levels of genetic diversity among co-distributed boreal forest birds
Description
Accepted author manuscript
Keywords
Boreal birds , Coalescence , Hierarchical approximate Bayesian computation , Paleodistribution , Phylogeography , Range periphery , Spruce-fir
Citation
Ralston, J., FitzGerald, A. M., Burg, T. M., Starkloff, N. C., Warkentin, I. G., & Kirchman, J. J. (2021). Comparative phylogeographic analysis suggests a shared history among eastern North American boreal forest birds. Ornithology, 138(3). https://doi.org/10.1093/ornithology/ukab018