Genetic Variation among Island and Continental Populations of Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) Subspecies in North America
Author
Macías-Duarte, AlbertoConway, Courtney J.
Holroyd, Geoffrey L.
Valdez-Gómez, Héctor E.
Culver, Melanie
Affiliation
Univ Arizona, Sch Nat Resources & Environm, Arizona Cooperat Fish & Wildlife Res UnitIssue Date
2019-05-09
Metadata
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RAPTOR RESEARCH FOUNDATION INCCitation
Alberto Macías-Duarte, Courtney J. Conway, Geoffrey L. Holroyd, Héctor E. Valdez-Gómez, and Melanie Culver "Genetic Variation among Island and Continental Populations of Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) Subspecies in North America," Journal of Raptor Research 53(2), 127-133, (9 May 2019). https://doi.org/10.3356/JRR-18-00002Journal
JOURNAL OF RAPTOR RESEARCHRights
Copyright © 2019 The Raptor Research Foundation, Inc.Collection Information
This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.Abstract
Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia) have a large geographic range spanning both North and South America and resident populations occur on many islands in the eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Many owl populations are isolated and disjunct from other populations, but studies on genetic variation within and among populations are limited. We characterized DNA microsatellite variation in populations varying in size and geographic isolation in the Florida (A. c. floridana), the Western (A. c. hypugaea), and the Clarion (A. c. rostrata) subspecies of the Burrowing Owl. We also characterized genetic variation in a geographically isolated population of the western subspecies in central Mexico (near Texcoco Lake). Clarion Burrowing Owls had no intrapopulation variation (i.e., fixation) at 5 out of 11 microsatellite loci, a likely outcome of genetic drift in an isolated and small population. The Florida subspecies had only polymorphic loci but had reduced levels of genetic variation compared with the more-widespread western subspecies that occurs throughout western North America. Despite the extensive geographic distribution of the Western Burrowing Owl, we found genetic differentiation between the panmictic population north of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt and the resident Texcoco Lake population in central Mexico.ISSN
0892-1016Version
Final published versionSponsors
US Department of Defense; iPlant Collaborative; Russell E. Train Education for Nature Program of the World Wildlife Fund; Bird Conservancy of the Rockies; US National Park Service; American Ornithologists' Union; University of Arizona; Sonoran Joint Venture of the US Fish and Wildlife Service; Silliman Memorial Research Award; TE, Inc.; Wallace Research Foundation; Tinker Foundation; William A. Calder III Memorial Scholarship; Beaverhill Bird Observatory; International Wildlife Foundation; National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico (CONACyT)ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.3356/jrr-18-00002