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Inferring the ancient population structure of the vulnerable albatross Phoebastria albatrus, combining ancient DNA, stable isotope, and morphometric analyses of archaeological samples

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Abstract

The history of population structure is a key to effective wildlife management and conservation. However, inferring the history of population structure using present genetic structures is problematic when the method is applied to species that have experienced severe population bottlenecks. Ancient DNA analysis seemed to be a promising, direct method for inferring ancient population structures. However, the usual methods for inferring modern population structure, i.e. the phylogeographic approach using mitochondrial DNA and the Bayesian approach using microsatellite DNA, are often unsuitable for ancient samples. In this study, we combined ancient DNA obtained from zooarchaeological bones with carbon/nitrogen stable isotope ratios and morphological variations to infer ancient population structure of the short-tailed albatross Phoebastria albatrus. The results showed that the bird existed in two populations, between which the genetic distance was greater than that of distinct sister albatross species, although no subspecies of P. albatrus have been proposed. Our results suggest that the birds at the present two breeding regions (Torishima in the Izu Islands and two islets of the Senkaku Islands) are descended from these two ancient populations, and that reevaluation of the status and conservation strategy for the species is required. Our results also indicate that lineage breeding on the Senkaku Islands has drastically reduced genetic diversity, while that on Torishima has not. The approach proposed in this study would be useful for inferring ancient population structure, using samples of highly mobile animals and/or samples from archaeological sites, and the reconstructed ancient population structure would be useful for conservation and management recommendations.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. Ushio Maeda for use of the albatross bones from HM2. We also thank Drs. Go Fujita, Tadashi Miyashita, Gregory Balogh, Haruki Tatsuta, Yoko Kunitake, Masaki Fujita, and Tatsuya Amano for their insightful comments on the manuscript and Dr. Van’t Hof and Jiro Eda for improving our English. Helpful comments from two anonymous reviewers clarified the strengths and weaknesses of this study. This study was supported financially in part by a Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Fellows to ME from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (No. 16-6316).

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Author notes

  1. Masaki Eda

    Present address: Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Nishi-cho 86, Yonago, Tottori, 683-8503, Japan

  2. Hiroko Koike

    Present address: The Kyushu University Museum, Hakozaki 6-10-1, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8581, Japan

  3. Shozo Mihara

    Present address: Faculty of Urban Liberal Arts, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Minami-Osawa 1-1, Hachioji, Tokyo, 192-0397, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Tokyo, Yayoi 1-1-1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan

    Masaki Eda & Hiroyoshi Higuchi

  2. Graduate School of Social and Cultural Studies, Kyushu University, Motooka 744, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan

    Hiroko Koike & Shozo Mihara

  3. Department of Biology, Hirosaki University, Bunkyo-cho 3, Hirosaki, Aomori, 036-8561, Japan

    Masaki Kuro-o

  4. Biology Department, Toho University, Miyama 2-2-1, Funabashi, Chiba, 274-8510, Japan

    Hiroshi Hasegawa

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  1. Masaki Eda
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Correspondence to Masaki Eda.

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Eda, M., Koike, H., Kuro-o, M. et al. Inferring the ancient population structure of the vulnerable albatross Phoebastria albatrus, combining ancient DNA, stable isotope, and morphometric analyses of archaeological samples. Conserv Genet 13, 143–151 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-011-0270-5

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