Colonization History and Origin of the Galapagos Flycatcher (\u3ci\u3eMyiarchus magnirostris\u3c/i\u3e) and its parasites

The Galápagos flycatcher (Myiarchus magnirostris) is an endemic species to the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, and is among the least studied Galápagos terrestrial birds. In this work I unveiled the origin and colonization history of the Galápagos flycatcher, and also the origin of the parasites that are currently found in/on this bird species. To determine the origin of the Galápagos flycatcher, I rebuilt the phylogeny of the Myiarchus genus using cytb and ND2, and applied a Bayesian approach to estimate its colonization time. I discovered that the closest living relative of the Galápagos flycatcher is Myiarchus tyrannulus (Brown-crested flycatcher) from Central and North America, and these two sister groups diverged approximately 850,000 years ago. To better understand the Galápagos flycatcher evolution in the Galápagos Archipelago, I used seven microsatellites and morphological characters to compare populations from seven islands. Correlation between genetic diversity and island size pointed to drift as an important diversification force. In general, morphological distances across islands were not correlated with pairwise genetic distances, and local adaptation through natural selection may possibly have contributed to that, but drift and phenotypic plasticity could not be excluded as explanations. To investigate the origin of the Galápagos flycatcher parasites I studied blood parasites, lice, and mites from Galápagos flycatchers (n = 254) and from M. tyrannulus (n = 74) in Costa Rica. We found that different parasite species from the Galápagos flycatchers have different origins: five parasite species colonized the Galápagos Islands with the Galápagos flycatchers’ ancestors (two louse species and three mite species), and two parasite species were acquired from the native bird community after the Galápagos flycatchers ancestors arrived to Galápagos (Haemoproteus blood parasite and Brueelia louse). To investigate why some parasites found on M. tyrannulus (Plasmodium blood parasite and Philopterus louse) did not colonize Galápagos, I looked at immune responses of M. tyrannulus from Costa Rica to their parasites. I found no evidence that these parasites are affecting the health of M. tyrannulus more negatively than the other parasites and in a manner that would hinder their ability to colonize Galápagos

Die populationsgenetische Struktur des in der Mata Atlântica endemischen Rotkehl-Mückenfressers ( Conopophaga lineata , Passeriformes: conopophagidae) lässt eine Kontaktzone in der Mata Atlântica erkennen

The Rufous Gnateater, Conopophaga lineata, is a small insectivorous understory bird which is endemic to and widely distributed in the tropical and subtropical Atlantic forest of South America. Its distribution makes it ideally suited for testing two major hypotheses for the origin of biodiversity, namely, the riverine barrier and the forest refuge hypotheses. In this study, we sequenced mitochondrial (control region) and nuclear markers (intron 5 of the β-fibrinogen gene) for individuals distributed in the southern Atlantic forest and obtained a strong genetic structure with one clear discontinuity in northern Brazilian state of São Paulo. We consistently detected signals of demographic expansion for both markers, with estimates indicating that expansion started in the Late Pleistocene (250,000 years ago), suggesting that the forest refuge hypothesis potentially explains Rufous Gnateater’s diversification. We also found evidence of gene flow between populations from each side of this discontinuity, with a possible secondary contact zone occurring in the states of Minas Gerais, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro.Der Rotkehl-Mückenfresser, Conopophaga lineata, ist ein kleiner insektivorer Vogel, der im Unterholz der tropischen und subtropischen Mata Atlântica in Südamerika endemisch und weit verbreitet ist. Die Verbreitung des Rotkehl-Mückenfressers macht ihn besonders dafür geeignet, zwei Haupthypothesen zum Ursprung von Biodiversität zu testen, die „Flüsse als Barrieren“-Hypothese (“riverine barrier hypothesis”) und die „Wälder als Rückzugsgebiete“-Hypothese (“forest refuges hypothesis”). Wir haben mitochondriale Marker (Kontrollregion) und Zellkernmarker (Intron 5 von β-Fibrinogen) für in der südlichen Mata Atlântica verbreitete Individuen sequenziert und eine ausgeprägte genetische Struktur mit einer klaren Diskontinuität im Norden des Bundesstaates São Paulo gefunden. Für beide Marker haben wir durchweg Signale demographischer Ausbreitung entdeckt, die schätzungsweise im späten Pleistozän (vor 250000 Jahren) begann, was darauf hindeutet, dass die „Wälder als Rückzugsgebiete“-Hypothese einen möglichen Einflussfaktor bei der Diversifikation des Rotkehl-Mückenfressers darstellt. Wir haben auch Hinweise auf Genfluss zwischen Populationen auf beiden Seiten der Diskontinuität gefunden, mit einer möglichen sekundären Kontaktzone in den Bundesstaaten Minas Gerais, São Paulo und Rio de Janeiro.\ud Communicated by J. Fjeldså.This work was supported by FAPEMIG (Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais 17228), CNPq, FAPESP (BIOTA 2013/50297-0), NSF (DOB 1343578), NASA, CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior), and the Research Center on Biodiversity and Computing (BioComp) of the Universidade de São Paulo (USP), supported by the USP Provost’s Office for Research. Gisele Dantas worked under a Post-doctoral grant CAPES/PNPD (2010/52590-8) and CNPq (503145/2009-2). We also thank the Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis (Brazil), Instituto Florestal de São Paulo (Brazil), and Instituto Estadual de Florestas de Minas Gerais (Brazil) for the permits to collect samples (IBAMA/MMA no 03/2004 IBAMA/MMA: 011/2000, processes 1835/2000; 053/2001, 1835/00-07; 070/2002, 02015.001835/00-07; 207/2003, 02015.023482/98-38). We gratefully acknowledge the improvements in English usage made by Caitlin Stern through the Association of Field Ornithologists’ program of editorial assistance

Local host specialization, host-switching, and dispersal shape the regional distributions of avian haemosporidian parasites

The drivers of regional parasite distributions are poorly understood, especially in comparison with those of free-living species. For vector-transmitted parasites, in particular, distributions might be influenced by host-switching and by parasite dispersal with primary hosts and vectors. We surveyed haemosporidian blood parasites (Plasmodium and Haemoproteus) of small land birds in eastern North America to characterize a regional parasite community. Distributions of parasite populations generally reflected distributions of their hosts across the region. However, when the interdependence between hosts and parasites was controlled statistically, local host assemblages were related to regional climatic gradients, but parasite assemblages were not. Moreover, because parasite assemblage similarity does not decrease with distance when controlling for host assemblages and climate, parasites evidently disperse readily within the distributions of their hosts. The degree of specialization on hosts varied in some parasite lineages over short periods and small geographic distances independently of the diversity of available hosts and potentially competing parasite lineages. Nonrandom spatial turnover was apparent in parasite lineages infecting one host species that was well-sampled within a single year across its range, plausibly reflecting localized adaptations of hosts and parasites. Overall, populations of avian hosts generally determine the geographic distributions of haemosporidian parasites. However, parasites are not dispersal-limited within their host distributions, and they may switch hosts readily

Matrilineal evidence for a demographic expansion, low diversity and lack of phylogeographic structure in the Atlantic forest endemic Greenish Schiffornis Schiffornis virescens (Aves: Tityridae)

Abstract Studies of Atlantic forest (AF) organisms sug- gest that the historical dynamics of the forest cover pro- duced demographically stable populations in its central region and unstable populations in the southern regions. We studied the mitochondrial phylogeographic structure of an AF passerine, the Greenish Schiffornis Schiffornis virescens (Tityridae), and evaluated questions related to the history of the AF. We analyzed cytochrome b and control region sequences of the mitochondrial genome by traditional phylogenetic and population genetic methods based on summary statistics. In addition, we used coalescent simu- lations to evaluate specific models of evolution of the populations of S. virescens. The results did not support phylogeographic partitions of the genetic variability of S. virescens. The overall Ust was = 0.32 and gene flow between regions was moderate to high. The analyses sug- gested that the total population of S. virescens suffered a bottleneck followed by a demographic expansion in the late Pleistocene. The bottleneck might have contributed to the extinction of intraspecific lineages, and hence to the observed lack of a strong phylogeographic pattern and low genetic diversity. Our results suggest that some AF taxa have had all their populations similarly affected by the recent history of the biome, contrary to what has been revealed from most of the other phylogeographic studies in the region and as suggested by a model of AF refuges (the Carnaval–Moritz model). We suggest that the response of organisms to common histories may be idiosyncratic, and predictions about the history of the biome should take into account ecological characteristics and distribution of each specific taxa.Fil: Cabanne, Gustavo Sebastián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Sari, Eloisa H. R.. Universidade Federal do Minas Gerais. Instituto de Ciências Biológicas; BrasilFil: Meyer, Diogo. Universidade de Sao Paulo. Instituto de Biociências; BrasilFil: Santos, Fabricio. Universidade Federal do Minas Gerais. Instituto de Ciências Biológicas; BrasilFil: Miyaki, Cristina. Universidade de Sao Paulo. Instituto de Biociências; Brasi

The global biogeography of avian haemosporidian parasites is characterized by local diversification and intercontinental dispersal

The biogeographic histories of parasites and pathogens are infrequently compared with those of free-living species, including their hosts. Documenting the frequency with which parasites and pathogens disperse across geographic regions contributes to understanding not only their evolution, but also the likelihood that they may become emerging infectious diseases. Haemosporidian parasites of birds (parasite genera Plasmodium, Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon) are globally distributed, dipteran-vectored parasites. To date, over 2000 avian haemosporidian lineages have been designated by molecular barcoding methods. To achieve their current distributions, some lineages must have dispersed long distances, often over water. Here we quantify such events using the global avian haemosporidian database MalAvi and additional records primarily from the Americas. We scored lineages as belonging to one or more global biogeographic regions based on infection records. Most lineages were restricted to a single region but some were globally distributed. We also used part of the cytochrome b gene to create genus-level parasite phylogenies and scored well-supported nodes as having descendant lineages in regional sympatry or allopatry. Descendant sister lineages of Plasmodium, Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon were distributed in allopatry in 11, 16 and 15% of investigated nodes, respectively. Although a small but significant fraction of the molecular variance in cytochrome b of all three genera could be explained by biogeographic region, global parasite dispersal likely contributed to the majority of the unexplained variance. Our results suggest that avian haemosporidian parasites have faced few geographic barriers to dispersal over their evolutionary history

Evolution between forest macrorefugia is linked to discordance between genetic and morphological variation in Neotropical passerines

The central Andean rainforests and the Atlantic Forest are two similar biomes that are fully isolated by xerophytic and open-vegetation regions (the Chaco and Cerrado, respectively). Even though there is evidence suggesting that these rainforests have been connected in the past, their dynamics of connection, the geographic areas that bridged these regions, and the biological processes that have promoted diversification between them remain to be studied. In this research, we used three passerine species (Poecilotriccus plumbeiceps, Phylloscartes ventralis and Cacicus chrysopterus) as models to address whether the Andean and the Atlantic forests have acted as a refugia system (macrorefugia), and to evaluate biogeographic hypotheses of diversification and connection between them. In order to achieve these goals, we performed traditional phylogeographic analyses and compared alternative biogeographic scenarios by using Approximate Bayesian Computation. Additionally, we performed morphological analyses to evaluate phenotypic divergence between these regions. Our findings support that both rainforest regions acted as refugia, but that the impact of their isolation was stronger on the genetic than on the morphologic characters. Our results provided evidence that both geographic isolation as well as ecological factors have modeled the external traits of forest organisms in the region. Regarding the connection routes between the Andes and the Atlantic Forest, the genetic data rejected the hypothesis of a Chaco connection in the tested species, providing evidence for a connection through the Cerrado or through the transition between the Cerrado and Chaco, in a process that could have started as early as the Late Miocene.Fil: Trujillo Arias, Natalia. Universidad Industrial Santander; Colombia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Rodríguez Cajarville, María José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Sari, Eloisa. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; BrasilFil: Miyaki, Cristina Yumi. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Santos, Fabricio R.. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; BrasilFil: Witt, Christopher C.. University of New Mexico; Estados UnidosFil: Barreira, Ana Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Gómez, Isabel. Museo Nacional de Historia Natural; BoliviaFil: Naoki, Kazuya. Universidad Mayor de San Andrés; BoliviaFil: Tubaro, Pablo Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Cabanne, Gustavo Sebastián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; Argentin

High connectivity and migration potentiate the invasion of Limnoperna fortunei (Mollusca: Mytilidae) in South America

Even after almost 30 years of Limnoperna fortunei introduction into South America, it is still unclear how the source and propagules are connected. Here, we present genetic evidence of population connectivity and gene flow of L. fortunei propagules from Asia into South America, proposing the main invasion routes into South America. To achieve that we expanded the sampling effort to cover all occurrence points of L. fortunei in South America. We sequenced the mtDNA COI gene and genotyped eight microsatellite loci (ML), and we evaluated the genetic source of the recently introduced population in Sobradinho hydroelectric power plant reservoir in Northeast Brazil. Our results revealed that China is the main genetic source of propagules for the Sobradinho population. We also found COI haplotypes and ML genotypes unique to South American populations, demonstrating a bridgehead effect likely caused by local mutation, adaptation, and admixture patterns that are maintained by high levels of gene flow among them. However, two genetic barriers were also detected. We concluded that L. fortunei is a well-established invader and is still rapidly expanding in Brazil, and the Amazon hydrographic basin is under an alarming threat of invasion.Fil: Ludwig, Sandra. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; BrasilFil: Sari, Eloisa H. R.. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; BrasilFil: Paixão, Hugo. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; BrasilFil: Montresor, Lângia C.. René Rachou Institute; BrasilFil: Araújo, Juliano. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; BrasilFil: Brito, Cristiana F. A.. René Rachou Institute; BrasilFil: Darrigran, Gustavo Alberto. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División de Zoología Invertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Pepato, Almir R.. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; BrasilFil: Vidigal, Teofania Heloisa Dutra Amorim. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; BrasilFil: Martinez, Carlos B.. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; Brasi