Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Comparative Historical Demography of Migratory and Nonmigratory Birds from the Caribbean Island of Hispaniola

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Evolutionary Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Islands offer unique opportunities for studies of evolution and historical demography. We hypothesized that wintering North American migrant bird species would show genetic evidence of population expansion over recent millennia due to the expansion of their breeding distributions following the retreat of the Laurentide ice sheet. In contrast, we presumed that non-migratory species would exhibit more stable historical demographies. We used mtDNA sequences from 649 individuals of 16 avian species on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola to test this prediction. Mismatch distributions did not differ significantly between migrants and non-migrants. However, neutrality indices indicated population expansion in the migrant species, as well as two non-migratory resident species with extensive distributions. Evidence of population expansion was less consistent in other non-migratory residents. We infer that climate prior to the Last Glacial Maximum significantly reduced effective population sizes of most migratory North American bird populations and some resident Hispaniolan bird populations. Our data further revealed that mismatch statistics were poorly correlated with and less informative than the neutrality test statistics, a consideration for future demographic studies.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Amos, W., Flint, J., & Xu, X. (2008). Heterozygosity increases microsatellite mutation rate, linking it to demographic history. BMC Genetics, 9, 72.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Avise, J. C. (1992). Molecular population structure and the biogeographic history of a regional fauna: A case history with lessons for conservation biology. Oikos, 63, 62–76.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Avise, J. C. (2000). Phylogeography. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Avise, J. C., & Walker, D. (1998). Pleistocene phylogeographic effects on avian populations and the speciation process. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B-Biological Sciences, 265, 457–463.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bellemain, E., Bermingham, E., & Ricklefs, R. E. (2008). The dynamic evolutionary history of the bananaquit (Coereba flaveola) in the Caribbean revealed by a multigene analysis. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 8, 240.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bellemain, E., Gaggiotti, O., Fahey, A. & Ricklefs, R.E. (2012). Demographic history and genetic diversity in the West Indian Coereba flaveola populations. Genetica, in revision.

  • Bonatti, E., & Gartner, S., Jr. (1973). Caribbean climate during Pleistocene ice ages. Nature, 244, 563–565.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bos, D. H., Gopurenko, D., Williams, R. N., & DeWoody, J. A. (2008). Inferring population history and demography using microsatellites, mitochondrial DNA, and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes. Evolution, 62, 1458–1468.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Clement, M., Posada, D., & Crandall, K. (2000). TCS: A computer program to estimate gene genealogies. Molecular Ecology, 9, 1657–1660.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Curtis, J. H., Brenner, M., & Hodell, D. A. (2001). Climate change in the circum-Caribbean (Late Pleistocene to Present) and implications for regional biogeography. In C. A. Woods & F. E. Sergile (Eds.), Biogeography of the West Indies. Patterns and Perspectives (pp. 35–54). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Eo, S. H., & DeWoody, J. A. (2010). Evolutionary rates of mitochondrial genomes correspond to diversification rates and to contemporary species richness in birds and reptiles. Proceeding of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 277, 3587–3592.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eo, S. H., Doyle, J. M., & DeWoody, J. A. (2011). Genetic diversity in birds is associated with body mass and habitat type. Journal of Zoology (London), 283, 220–226.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Excoffier, L., Laval, L. G., & Schneider, S. (2005). Arlequin ver. 3.0: An integrated software package for population genetics data analysis. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 1, 47–50.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Felsenstein, J. (1992). Estimating effective population size from samples of sequences: Inefficiency of pairwise and segregating sites as compared to phylogenetic estimates. Genetical Research, 59, 139–147.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fu, Y. (1997). Statistical tests of neutrality of mutations against population growth, hitchhiking and background selection. Genetics, 147, 915–925.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fu, Y., & Li, W. H. (1993). Statistical tests of neutrality of mutations. Genetics, 133, 693–709.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Harpending, H. C., Sherry, A. R., Rogers, A. R., & Stoneking, M. (1993). Genetic structure of ancient human populations. Current Anthropology, 34, 483–496.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hawley, D. M., Briggs, J., Dhondt, A. A., & Lovette, I. J. (2008). Reconciling molecular signatures across markers: mitochondrial DNA confirms founder effect in invasive North American house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus). Conservation Genetics, 9, 637–643.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hewitt, G. M. (1996). Some genetic consequences of ice ages, and their role in divergence and speciation. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 58, 247–276.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hewitt, G. M. (2000). The genetic legacy of the Quaternary ice ages. Nature, 405, 907–913.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Higuera-Gundy, A., Brenner, M., Hodell, D. A., Curtis, J. H., & Leyden, B. W. (1999). A 10,300 14C yr record of climate and vegetation change from Haiti. Quaternary Research, 52, 159–170.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, A. L., & Hughes, M. K. (2007). Coding sequence polymorphism in avian mitochondrial genomes reflects population histories. Molecular Ecology, 16, 1369–1376.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, K. P., & Sorenson, M. D. (1998). Comparing molecular evolution in two mitochondrial protein coding genes (cytochrome b and ND2) in the dabbling ducks (Tribe: Anatini). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 10, 82–94.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lande, R., & Barrowclough, G. F. (1987). Effective population size, genetic variation, and their use in population management. In M. E. Soulé (Ed.), Viable populations for conservation. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Latta, S. C., & Ricklefs, R. E. (2010). Prevalence patterns of avian Haemosporida on Hispaniola. Journal of Avian Biology, 41, 25–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Latta, S. C., Rimmer, C. C., & McFarland, K. P. (2003). Winter bird communities in four habitats along an elevational gradient on Hispaniola. Condor, 105, 179–197.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Latta, S., Rimmer, C., Keith, A., Wiley, J., Raffaele, H., McFarland, K., et al. (2006). Birds of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lerner, H. R. L., Johnson, J. A., Lindsay, A. R., Kiff, L. F., & Mindell, D. P. (2009). It’s not too late for the harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja): high levels of genetic diversity and differentiation can fuel conservation programs. PLoS One, 4, 10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayr, G., & Knopf, C. W. (2007). A tody (Alcediniformes: Todidae) from the early Oligocene of Germany. Auk, 124, 1294–1304.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDonald, J. H., & Kreitman, M. (1991). Adaptive protein evolution at the Adh locus in Drosophila. Nature, 351, 654–656.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKay, B. D. (2009). Evolutionary history suggests rapid differentiation in the yellow-throated warbler Dendroica dominica. Journal of Avian Biology, 40, 181–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merilä, J., Björklund, M., & Baker, A. J. (1997). Historical demography and present day population structure of the greenfinch, Carduelis chloris- an analysis of mtDNA control-region sequences. Evolution, 51, 946–956.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mila, B., Girman, D. J., Kimura, M., & Smith, T. B. (2000). Genetic evidence for the effect of a postglacial population expansion on the phylogeography of a North American songbird. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B-Biological Sciences, 267, 1033–1040.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mila, B., Smith, T. B., & Wayne, R. K. (2006). Postglacial population expansion drives the evolution of long-distance migration in a songbird. Evolution, 60, 2403–2409.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mila, B., Smith, T. B., & Wayne, R. K. (2007a). Speciation and rapid phenotypic differentiation in the yellow-rumped warbler Dendroica coronata complex. Molecular Ecology, 16, 159–173.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mila, B., McCormack, J. E., Castaneda, G., Wayne, R. K., & Smith, T. B. (2007b). Recent postglacial range expansion drives the rapid diversification of a songbird lineage in the genus Junco. Proceeding of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 274, 2653–2660.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Norgate, M., Chamings, J., Pavlova, A., Bull, J. K., Murray, N. D., & Sunnucks, P. (2009). Mitochondrial DNA indicates late Pleistocene divergence of populations of Heteronympha merope, an emerging model in environmental change biology. PLoS One, 4, 11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Overton, L. C., & Rhoads, D. D. (2004). Molecular phylogenetic relationships based on mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences for the Todies (Todus, Todidae) of the Caribbean. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 32, 524–538.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pielou, E. C. (1991). After the ice age. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Qu, Y., Lei, F., Zhang, R., & Lu, X. (2010). Comparative phylogeography of five avian species: Implications for Pleistocene evolutionary history in the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. Molecular Ecology, 19, 338–351.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ramos-Onsins, S. E., & Rozas, J. (2002). Statistical properties of new neutrality tests against population growth. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 19, 2092–2100.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reding, D. M., Freed, L. A., Cann, R. L., & Fleischer, R. C. (2010). Spatial and temporal patterns of genetic diversity in an endangered Hawaiian honeycreeper, the Hawaii Akepa (Loxops coccineus coccineus). Conservation Genetics, 11, 225–240.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ricklefs, R., & Bermingham, E. (2008a). The West Indies as a laboratory of biogeography and evolution. Philosophy Transactions of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 363, 2393–2413.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ricklefs, R., & Bermingham, E. (2008b). Likely human introduction of the red-legged thrush (Turdus plumbeus) to Dominica, West Indies. Auk, 125, 299–303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, A. R., & Harpending, H. C. (1992). Population growth makes waves in the distribution of pairwise genetic differences. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 9, 552–569.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rozas, J., Sánchez-DelBarrio, J. C., Messeguer, X., & Rozas, R. (2003). DnaSP, DNA polymorphism analyses by the coalescent and other methods. Bioinformatics, 19, 2496–2497.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, S., & Excoffier, L. (1999). Estimation of past demographic parameters from the distribution of pairwise differences when the mutation rates vary among sites: application to human mitochondrial DNA. Genetics, 152, 1079–1089.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Slatkin, M., & Hudson, R. R. (1991). Pairwise comparisons of mitochondrial DNA sequences in stable and exponentially growing populations. Genetics, 129, 555–562.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sly, N. D., Townsend, A. K., Rimmer, C. C., Townsend, J. M., Latta, S., & Lovette, I. J. (2010). Phylogeography and conservation genetics of the Hispaniolan endemic Palm-Tanagers (Aves: Phaenicophilus). Conservation Genetics, 11, 2121–2129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sly, N. D., Townsend, A. K., Rimmer, C. C., Townsend, J. M., Latta, S. C. & Lovette, I. J. (2011). Ancient islands and modern invasions: Disparate phylogeographic histories among Hispaniola’s endemic birds. Molecular Ecology, 20, 5012–5024.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sorenson, M. D. (2003). Avian mtDNA primers. http://people.bu.edu/msoren/primers.html.

  • Sorenson, M. D., Ast, J. C., Dimcheff, D. E., Yuri, T., & Mindell, D. P. (1999). Primers for PCR-based approach to mitochondrial genome sequencing in birds and other vertebrates. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 12, 105–114.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tajima, F. (1989). Statistical method for testing the neutral mutation hypothesis by DNA polymorphism. Genetics, 123, 585–595.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Townsend, A. K., Rimmer, C. C., Latta, S. C., & Lovette, I. J. (2007). Ancient differentiation in the single-island avian radiation of endemic Hispaniolan Chat-Tanagers (Aves : Calyptophilus). Molecular Ecology, 16, 3634–3642.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Walker, D., & Avise, J. C. (1998). Principles of phylogeography as illustrated by freshwater and terrestrial turtles in the southeastern United States. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, 29, 23–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zimmerman, J. L. (1998). Migration of Birds. Circular 16. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

  • Zink, R. M., & Barrowclough, G. F. (2008). Mitochondrial DNA under siege in avian phylogeography. Molecular Ecology, 17, 2107–2121.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zink, R. M., Drovetski, S. V., & Rohwer, S. (2006). Selective neutrality of mitochondrial ND2 sequences, phylogeography and species limits in Sitta europaea. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 40, 679–686.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Samples were collected in the field by Steve Latta at the National Aviary, funded by NSF Grants DEB-0089226 and DEB-0542390 to RER. Permission to work in the Sierra de Bahoruco was provided by the Dirección Nacional de Parques and the Departamento de Vida Silvestre, República Dominicana. Field assistance in the Dominican Republic was provided by Danilo Mejía, Vinicio Mejía, Mamonides Heredia, Miguel Angel Landestoy, Marie Abbott, and Elvis Cuevas Mendoza. Chris Rimmer and Kent McFarland of the Vermont Center for Ecostudies provided blood samples from montane broadleaf forest sites. We also thank B. Dunning, K. Nichols, and members of the DeWoody lab group for their insights and comments on the paper. Finally, we thank the Provost’s Office at Purdue University for funding through the University Faculty Scholar program (JAD) and the Curators of the University of Missouri and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for financial support (RER).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forestry and Natural Resource, Purdue University, 715 W. State Street, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA

    Anna L. Fahey

  2. Department of Biology, University of Missouri at St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63121, USA

    Robert E. Ricklefs

  3. National Aviary, Allegheny Commons West, Pittsburgh, PA, 15212, USA

    Steven C. Latta

  4. Department of Forestry and Natural Resource and Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA

    J. Andrew DeWoody

Authors
  1. Anna L. Fahey
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Robert E. Ricklefs
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Steven C. Latta
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. J. Andrew DeWoody
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anna L. Fahey.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Fahey, A.L., Ricklefs, R.E., Latta, S.C. et al. Comparative Historical Demography of Migratory and Nonmigratory Birds from the Caribbean Island of Hispaniola. Evol Biol 39, 400–414 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11692-012-9164-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11692-012-9164-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation