Habitat-linked genetic variation supports microgeographic adaptive divergence in an island-endemic bird species.

ABSTRACT: We investigated the potential mechanisms driving habitat-linked genetic divergence within a bird species endemic to a single 250-km² island. The island scrub-jay (Aphelocoma insularis) exhibits microgeographic divergence in bill morphology across pine-oak ecotones on Santa Cruz Island, California (USA), similar to adaptive differences described in mainland congeners over much larger geographic scales. To test whether individuals exhibit genetic differentiation related to habitat type and divergence in bill length, we genotyped over 3000 single nucleotide polymorphisms in 123 adult island scrub-jay males from across Santa Cruz Island using restriction site-associated DNA sequencing. Neutral landscape genomic analyses revealed that genome-wide genetic differentiation was primarily

SUBMITTER: Cheek RG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9325526 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature