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Phylogeography of the blue tit (Parus teneriffae-group) on the Canary Islands based on mitochondrial DNA sequence data and morphometrics

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Abstract

An analysis of the sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene (1005 bp) of the Parus teneriffae-group from the Canary Islands and North Africa revealed new insights into the phylogeography of this taxon. The origin of the radiation on the Canarian Archipelago was apparently one of the central islands—Tenerife or Gran Canaria. The populations on El Hierro (P. t. ombriosus) and La Palma (P. t. palmensis) represent distinct monophyletic lineages. Blue tits from Gran Canaria are genetically distinct from those of La Gomera and Tenerife (P. t. teneriffae), which supports the results of other studies and suggests the existence of an—until now—undescribed taxon there. In contrast, the populations on the eastern islands of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote (P. t. degener) could not be distinguished from North African blue tits (P. t. ultramarinus), and these populations should be subsumed under the subspecies ultramarinus. Taxonomic recommendations based on these results include the distinction of the northern European P. caeruleus from P. teneriffae, including blue tits from North Africa and the Canary Islands, the treatment of degener and ultramarinus as synonymous (P. teneriffae ultramarinus) and a new blue tit taxon on the island of Gran Canaria (P. t. hedwigii nov. ssp.), which is formally described. The genetic results are in parts supported by bioacoustic and morphological data.

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Acknowledgements

Samples for genetic analyses included in this study were collected by the Institute of Pharmacy and Molecular Biotechnology (IPMB) (University of Heidelberg), the Museo de Ciencias Naturales (Organismo Autónomo de Museos y Centros, Tenerife) and Sociedad Ornitológica Canaria (SOC-Tenerife) with kind permission of the Consejería de Política Territorial y Medio Ambiente on the Canary Islands. We also thank the Department des Eaux et Forests, Royaume du Maroc, for the permission to collect samples in Morocco. Aurelio Martin and Felix Manuel Medina gave valuable advice and support during field trips to the Canary Islands. Hans-Hinrich Witt, Daniela Guicking and Marion Steinbüchel assisted during various field trips. Hedwig Sauer-Gürth gave invaluable technical assistance in the laboratory. Renate van den Elzen kindly provided access to the collection of blue tit specimens in the ‘Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig’ (ZFMK) in Bonn, Germany, and was helpful in tracking down some remote references. Javiér Gonzalez and Martin Päckert made valuable improvements on earlier drafts of the manuscript. Many and cordial thanks are due to all friends, colleagues and institutions. All experiments comply with the current laws of Germany and Spain.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Pharmazie und Molekulare Biotechnologie (IPMB), Abt. Biologie, Universität Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 364, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany

    Christian Dietzen & Michael Wink

  2. Departamento de Ecologia, Facultad de Biologia, Universidad de La Laguna, 38206, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain

    Eduardo Garcia-del-Rey

  3. Museo de Ciencias Naturales, Organismo Autónomo de Museos y Centros, C/Ramón y Cajal no 3, 38003, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain

    Guillermo Delgado Castro

Authors
  1. Christian Dietzen
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  2. Eduardo Garcia-del-Rey
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  3. Guillermo Delgado Castro
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  4. Michael Wink
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christian Dietzen.

Additional information

Communicated by F. Bairlein.

Appendix

Appendix

Variable positions (n = 110) in the alignment of 1005 nucleotides of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene in Parus teneriffae/caeruleus samples from the Canary Islands, Europe and North Africa

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Dietzen, C., Garcia-del-Rey, E., Castro, G. et al. Phylogeography of the blue tit (Parus teneriffae-group) on the Canary Islands based on mitochondrial DNA sequence data and morphometrics. J Ornithol 149, 1–12 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-007-0192-7

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