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Blanchet G, Bellinger MR, Kearns AM, Cortes-Rodriguez N, Masuda B, Campana MG, Rutz C, Fleischer RC, Sutton JT. Reduction of genetic diversity in 'Alalā (Hawaiian crow; Corvus hawaiiensis) between the late 1800s and the late 1900s. J Hered 2024; 115:32-44. [PMID: 37846510 DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esad063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2023] [Revised: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Genetic and genomic data are increasingly used to aid conservation management of endangered species by providing insights into evolutionary histories, factors associated with extinction risks, and potential for future adaptation. For the 'Alalā, or Hawaiian crow (Corvus hawaiiensis), genetic concerns include negative correlations between inbreeding and hatching success. However, it is unclear if low genetic diversity and inbreeding depression are consequences of a historical population bottleneck, or if 'Alalā had historically low genetic diversity that predated human influence, perhaps as a result of earlier declines or founding events. In this study, we applied a hybridization-based sequence capture to generate a genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) dataset for comparing historical specimens collected in the 1890s, when 'Alalā were more numerous, to samples taken between 1973 and 1998, when 'Alalā population densities were near the lowest documented levels in the wild, prior to all individuals being collected for captive rearing. We found low genome-wide diversity in both sample groups, however, the modern sample group (1973 to 1998 cohort) exhibited relatively fewer polymorphic alleles, a lower proportion of polymorphic loci, and lower observed heterozygosity, consistent with a population decline and potential bottleneck effects. These results combined with a current low population size highlight the importance of continued efforts by conservation managers to mitigate inbreeding and maintain founder representation to preserve what genetic diversity remains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geneviève Blanchet
- Department of Biology, University of Hawai'i at Hilo, 200 W Kāwili St, Hilo, Hawai'i 96720, United States
| | - M Renee Bellinger
- Department of Biology, University of Hawai'i at Hilo, 200 W Kāwili St, Hilo, Hawai'i 96720, United States
- U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, PO Box 44, Hawai'i National Park, Hawai'i 96718, United States
| | - Anna M Kearns
- Center for Conservation Genomics, National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC 20008, United States
| | - Nandadevi Cortes-Rodriguez
- Center for Conservation Genomics, National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC 20008, United States
| | - Bryce Masuda
- San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, P.O. Box 39, Volcano, HI 96785, United States
| | - Michael G Campana
- Center for Conservation Genomics, National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC 20008, United States
| | - Christian Rutz
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9TH, United Kingdom
| | - Robert C Fleischer
- Center for Conservation Genomics, National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC 20008, United States
| | - Jolene T Sutton
- Department of Biology, University of Hawai'i at Hilo, 200 W Kāwili St, Hilo, Hawai'i 96720, United States
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2
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Kearns AM, Campana MG, Slikas B, Berry L, Saitoh T, Cibois A, Fleischer RC. Conservation genomics and systematics of a near-extinct island radiation. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:1995-2012. [PMID: 35119154 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2021] [Revised: 01/16/2022] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Conservation benefits from incorporating genomics to explore the impacts of population declines, inbreeding, loss of genetic variation and hybridization. Here we use the near-extinct Mariana Islands reedwarbler radiation to showcase how ancient DNA approaches can allow insights into the population dynamics of extinct species and threatened populations for which historical museum specimens or material with low DNA yield (e.g., scats, feathers) are the only sources for DNA. Despite their having paraphyletic mtDNA, nuclear SNPs support the distinctiveness of critically endangered Acrocephalus hiwae and the other three species in the radiation that went extinct between the 1960s and 1990s. Two extinct species, A. yamashinae and A. luscinius, were deeply divergent from each other and from a third less differentiated lineage containing A. hiwae and extinct A. nijoi. Both mtDNA and SNPs suggest that the two isolated populations of A. hiwae from Saipan and Alamagan Islands are sufficiently distinct to warrant subspecies recognition and separate conservation management. We detected no significant differences in genetic diversity or inbreeding between Saipan and Alamagan, nor strong signatures of geographic structuring within either island. However, the implications of possible signatures of inbreeding in both Saipan and Alamagan, and long-term population declines in A. hiwae that predate modern anthropogenic threats require further study with denser population sampling. Our study highlights the value conservation genomics studies of island radiations have as windows onto the possible future for the world's biota as climate change and habitat destruction increasingly fragments their ranges and contributes to rapid declines in population abundances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna M Kearns
- Center for Conservation Genomics, Smithsonian's National Zoological Park and Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, DC, 20008, USA
| | - Michael G Campana
- Center for Conservation Genomics, Smithsonian's National Zoological Park and Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, DC, 20008, USA
| | - Beth Slikas
- Center for Conservation Genomics, Smithsonian's National Zoological Park and Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, DC, 20008, USA.,Center for Evolution & Medicine, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
| | - Lainie Berry
- Department of Lands and Natural Resources, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Saipan, MP, 96950, USA.,Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources-Division of Forestry and Wildlife, Honolulu, HI, 96813, USA
| | - Takema Saitoh
- Yamashina Institute for Ornithology, 115 Konoyama, Abiko, Chiba, 270-1145, Japan
| | - Alice Cibois
- Natural History Museum of Geneva, CP, 6434, 1211, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Robert C Fleischer
- Center for Conservation Genomics, Smithsonian's National Zoological Park and Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, DC, 20008, USA
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3
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Campana MG, Hawkins MTR, Caballero S. Editorial: Assessing Biodiversity in the Phylogenomic Era. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.803188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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4
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Gallego-García N, Caballero S, Shaffer HB. Are genomic updates of well-studied species worth the investment for conservation? A case study of the Critically Endangered Magdalena River turtle. J Hered 2021; 112:575-589. [PMID: 34628509 DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esab063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2021] [Accepted: 10/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
As genomic-scale data sets become economically feasible for most organisms, a key question for conservation biology is whether the increased resolution offered by new genomic approaches justifies repeating earlier studies based on traditional markers, rather than investing those same time and monetary resources in less-known species. Genomic studies offer clear advantages when the objective is to identify adaptive loci that may be critical to conservation policy-makers. However, the answer is far less certain for the population and landscape studies based on neutral loci that dominate the conservation genetics research agenda. We used RADseq to revisit earlier molecular studies of the IUCN Critically Endangered Magdalena River turtle (Podocnemis lewyana), documenting the conservation insights gained by increasing the number of neutral markers by several orders of magnitude. Earlier research indicated that P. lewyana has the lowest genetic diversity known for any chelonian, and little or no population differentiation among independent rivers. In contrast, the RADseq data revealed discrete population structure with isolation-by-distance within river segments and identified precise population breaks clearly delineating management units. It also confirmed that the species does not have extremely low heterozygosity and that effective population sizes are probably sufficient to maintain long-term evolutionary potential. Contrary to earlier inferences from more limited population genetic markers, our genomic data suggest that management strategies should shift from active genetic rescue to more passive protection without extreme interventions. We conclude with a list of examples of conservation studies in other vertebrates indicating that for many systems a genomic update is worth the investment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Gallego-García
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Laboratorio de Ecología Molecular de Vertebrados Acuáticos LEMVA, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Susana Caballero
- Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Laboratorio de Ecología Molecular de Vertebrados Acuáticos LEMVA, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - H Bradley Shaffer
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science, and Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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5
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Genetic structure and population history in two critically endangered Kaua‘i honeycreepers. CONSERV GENET 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10592-021-01382-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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6
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Campana MG, Corvelo A, Shelton J, Callicrate TE, Bunting KL, Riley-Gillis B, Wos F, DeGrazia J, Jarvis ED, Fleischer RC. Adaptive Radiation Genomics of Two Ecologically Divergent Hawai'ian Honeycreepers: The 'akiapōlā'au and the Hawai'i 'amakihi. J Hered 2021; 111:21-32. [PMID: 31723957 DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esz057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2019] [Accepted: 09/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The Hawai'ian honeycreepers (drepanids) are a classic example of adaptive radiation: they adapted to a variety of novel dietary niches, evolving a wide range of bill morphologies. Here we investigated genomic diversity, demographic history, and genes involved in bill morphology phenotypes in 2 honeycreepers: the 'akiapōlā'au (Hemignathus wilsoni) and the Hawai'i 'amakihi (Chlorodrepanis virens). The 'akiapōlā'au is an endangered island endemic, filling the "woodpecker" niche by using a unique bill morphology, while the Hawai'i 'amakihi is a dietary generalist common on the islands of Hawai'i and Maui. We de novo sequenced the 'akiapōlā'au genome and compared it to the previously sequenced 'amakihi genome. The 'akiapōlā'au is far less heterozygous and has a smaller effective population size than the 'amakihi, which matches expectations due to its smaller census population and restricted ecological niche. Our investigation revealed genomic islands of divergence, which may be involved in the honeycreeper radiation. Within these islands of divergence, we identified candidate genes (including DLK1, FOXB1, KIF6, MAML3, PHF20, RBP1, and TIMM17A) that may play a role in honeycreeper adaptations. The gene DLK1, previously shown to influence Darwin's finch bill size, may be related to honeycreeper bill morphology evolution, while the functions of the other candidates remain unknown.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael G Campana
- Center for Conservation Genomics, Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, DC
| | | | | | - Taylor E Callicrate
- Center for Conservation Genomics, Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, DC.,Species Conservation Toolkit Initiative, Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield, IL
| | | | | | - Frank Wos
- New York Genome Center, New York, NY
| | | | - Erich D Jarvis
- The Rockefeller University, New York, NY.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD
| | - Robert C Fleischer
- Center for Conservation Genomics, Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, DC
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7
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Joubran SS, Cassin-Sackett L. Genomic resources for an ecologically important rodent, Gunnison’s prairie dogs (Cynomys gunnisoni). CONSERV GENET RESOUR 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s12686-021-01192-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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8
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Dussex N, Kutschera VE, Wiberg RAW, Parker DJ, Hunt GR, Gray RD, Rutherford K, Abe H, Fleischer RC, Ritchie MG, Rutz C, Wolf JBW, Gemmell NJ. A genome-wide investigation of adaptive signatures in protein-coding genes related to tool behaviour in New Caledonian and Hawaiian crows. Mol Ecol 2020; 30:973-986. [PMID: 33305388 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15775] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2020] [Revised: 11/27/2020] [Accepted: 12/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Very few animals habitually manufacture and use tools. It has been suggested that advanced tool behaviour co-evolves with a suite of behavioural, morphological and life history traits. In fact, there are indications for such an adaptive complex in tool-using crows (genus Corvus species). Here, we sequenced the genomes of two habitually tool-using and ten non-tool-using crow species to search for genomic signatures associated with a tool-using lifestyle. Using comparative genomic and population genetic approaches, we screened for signals of selection in protein-coding genes in the tool-using New Caledonian and Hawaiian crows. While we detected signals of recent selection in New Caledonian crows near genes associated with bill morphology, our data indicate that genetic changes in these two lineages are surprisingly subtle, with little evidence at present for convergence. We explore the biological explanations for these findings, such as the relative roles of gene regulation and protein-coding changes, as well as the possibility that statistical power to detect selection in recently diverged lineages may have been insufficient. Our study contributes to a growing body of literature aiming to decipher the genetic basis of recently evolved complex behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Dussex
- Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.,Department of Bioinformatics and Genetics, Centre for Palaeogenetics, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Verena E Kutschera
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.,Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, National Bioinformatics Infrastructure Sweden, Science for Life Laboratory, Stockholm University, Solna, Sweden
| | - R Axel W Wiberg
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK.,Department of Environmental Sciences, Evolutionary Biology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Darren J Parker
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK.,Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Gavin R Hunt
- University of Auckland, Science Centre 302, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Russell D Gray
- University of Auckland, Science Centre 302, Auckland, New Zealand.,Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Kim Rutherford
- Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Hideaki Abe
- Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.,Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Robert C Fleischer
- Center for Conservation Genomics, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Michael G Ritchie
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Christian Rutz
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Jochen B W Wolf
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.,Division of Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biology, LMU Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Neil J Gemmell
- Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
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9
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Russello M, Amato G, DeSalle R, Knapp M. Conservation Genetics and Genomics. Genes (Basel) 2020; 11:genes11030318. [PMID: 32192054 PMCID: PMC7140847 DOI: 10.3390/genes11030318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2020] [Accepted: 03/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Michael Russello
- Department of Biology, The University of British Columbia, 3247 University Way, FIP346, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada;
| | - George Amato
- Conservation Genomics, Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024-5102, USA;
- Correspondence:
| | - Robert DeSalle
- Conservation Genomics, Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024-5102, USA;
| | - Michael Knapp
- Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand;
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