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Divergence in an archipelago and its conservation consequences in Aleutian Island rock ptarmigan

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Abstract

The identification and assessment of island endemics is a conservation priority. We genotyped 115 rock ptarmigan from five insular populations in the Aleutian-Commander archipelago and two Alaska mainland populations to identify conservation units, assess genetic diversity and gene flow, and to determine whether populations have declined over time. We found four distinct populations that appear to be completely isolated and which correspond closely to recognized subspecies. The most geographically isolated populations also have the lowest genetic diversity. Three populations (Attu Island, Rat Islands, and Adak Island), which each experienced historic introductions of an exotic predator, showed genetic signals of declines, but the timing did not correspond with the introduction. We recommend management of each endemic group as a unique conservation unit.

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Acknowledgements

This project was supported by the University of Alaska Museum, the National Geographic Society, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Science Foundation (DEB-9981915), and an anonymous donor. Field and technical support were provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Coast Guard. We thank two anonymous reviewers for comments on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, 150 W University Blvd., Melbourne, FL, 32901, USA

    Christin L. Pruett & Tyler N. Turner

  2. University of Alaska Museum, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA

    Christin L. Pruett & Kevin Winker

  3. Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA

    Carrie M. Topp & Kevin Winker

  4. Commander State National Biosphere Reservate, Bering Str., 18, Nikolskoe, Aleutian distr., 684500, Kamchatka, Russia

    Sergey V. Zagrebelny

Authors
  1. Christin L. Pruett
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  2. Tyler N. Turner
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  3. Carrie M. Topp
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  4. Sergey V. Zagrebelny
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  5. Kevin Winker
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Correspondence to Christin L. Pruett.

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Pruett, C.L., Turner, T.N., Topp, C.M. et al. Divergence in an archipelago and its conservation consequences in Aleutian Island rock ptarmigan. Conserv Genet 11, 241–248 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-009-0026-7

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