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Molecular assessment of the distribution and taxonomy of the Lesser Whitethroat Sylvia curruca complex in Iran, with particular emphasis on the identity of the contentious taxon, zagrossiensis Sarudny, 1911

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Abstract

The Lesser Whitethroat Sylvia curruca complex continues to provide challenges for ornithologists and taxonomists. One of the remaining outstanding questions concerns the taxonomic identity of the different breeding populations in Iran and in particular zagrossiensis, which inhabits the Zagros mountains. We here used the three mitochondrial genes cyt b, COI and ND2, to evaluate samples of the Lesser Whitethroat complex from Iran. Our data include predominantly samples from the breeding season, and we find evidence of three taxa from Iran, of which two are certainly breeding; althaea from Kopet Dagh in NE Iran and the Kerman mountains, east of the Zagros mountains, SE Iran; and curruca from central Zagros mountains and northwestern Iran. Three samples of halimodendri from the south of Iran were migrating or wintering birds. The taxonomically contentious population from the Zagros mountains is here identified as belonging to the curruca clade, and evidence to recognize zagrossiensis based on molecular data is deemed insufficient.

Zusammenfassung

Molekulare Bewertung der Verbreitung und Taxonomie der Klappergrasmücke (Sylvia curruca) im Iran, unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des umstrittenen Taxons zagrossiensis Sarudny, 1911

Die Gruppe der Klappergrasmücken (Sylvia curruca) stellt noch immer eine Herausforderung für Ornithologen und Taxonomen dar. Eine der nach wie vor unbeantworteten Fragen ist die nach der taxonomischen Identität der unterschiedlichen Brutpopulationen im Iran, speziell von zagrossiensis im Zagros-Gebirge. Für unsere Untersuchungen verwendeten wir die drei mitochondriale Gene cyt b, COI und ND2 von Klappergrasmücken-Stichproben im Iran. Unsere Daten stammen im Wesentlichen von Stichproben aus der Brutzeit, und wir konnten drei Taxons im Iran finden, von denen zwei mit Sicherheit dort brüten: althaea im Kopet Dagh-Gebirge im Nordosten des Irans und in den Kerman-Bergen, östlich des Zagros-Gebirges im Südosten des Iran, sowie curruca aus dem zentralen Gebiet des Zagros-Gebirges und dem Nordwesten Irans. Drei Stichproben von halimodendri aus dem Süden des Irans waren ziehende oder überwinternde Vögel. Die taxonomisch umstrittene Population im Zagros-Gebirge wurde von uns als Teil der Klasse der curruca identifiziert; die Hinweise darauf, zagrossiensis nur aufgrund molekularer Daten anzusprechen, erscheinen uns als nicht ausreichend.

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Acknowledgements

This research funded by Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (3.42780). We thank The Department of Environment (DOE) for providing the permit and logistical support for blood sampling in Iran (No. 96.9101). We appreciate Prof. Jamshid Darvish as one of the supervisors of this study who passed away in the early stages of research. We are grateful to Vali Ebadi and Leila Noorani that provided samples from Khalkhal and Tandoureh, respectively. Maliheh Pirayesh assisted with laboratory work and Hassan Abdilzadeh, Mehri Ahmadi, Mehdi Elahi, Vajiheh Ghaemi, Somayyeh Pourebrahimi, Niloofar Alayi, Mohammad Safrang, Sajjad Jafari, Babak Mousavi, Dr. Arya Shafayipour, Dr. Reza Moussavi-Harami, Galeshi family, Mohammad Ebrahim Sehati and all the environment guards from sampling areas provided invaluable help for collecting the blood samples.

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Correspondence to Mansour Aliabadian.

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Abdilzadeh, R., Aliabadian, M. & Olsson, U. Molecular assessment of the distribution and taxonomy of the Lesser Whitethroat Sylvia curruca complex in Iran, with particular emphasis on the identity of the contentious taxon, zagrossiensis Sarudny, 1911. J Ornithol 161, 665–676 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-020-01772-x

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