Microsatellite markers for the Cape Robin-Chat (Cossypha caffra) and the Red-capped Robin-Chat (Cossypha natalensis) for use in demographic and landscape genetics analyses
The Robin-chats (Muscicapidae: Cossypha) are distributed across sub-saharan Africa with many species restricted to small fragments of Afromontane forest. Several species have decreasing population trends, so demographic data and landscape genetic data for these species will be essential for conservation management. Here we develop 23 microsatellite markers for two species of Cossypha (C. caffra and C. natalensis), characterize polymorphism, and cross-amplify a subset of loci. We demonstrate that most markers have high information content with many alleles suggesting that these markers will be useful for assessing population dynamics and demography. Several loci cross-amplified between species and retained high polymorphism, indicating that these loci will likely be of high utility for many species of African Robins
