TY - JOUR

T1 - Conservation genomics of the endangered Seychelles Magpie-Robin (Copsychus sechellarum)

T2 - a unique insight into the history of a precious endemic bird

AU - Cavill, Emily L.

AU - Gopalakrishnan, Shyam

AU - Puetz, Lara C.

AU - Ribeiro, Ângela M.

AU - Mak, Sarah S. T.

AU - da Fonseca, Rute R.

AU - Pacheco, George

AU - Dunlop, Bronwyn

AU - Accouche, Wilna

AU - Shah, Nirmal

AU - Zora, Anna

AU - Calabrese, Licia

AU - Genner, Martin

AU - Jones, Gareth

AU - Guo, Chunxue

AU - Zhang, Guojie

AU - Gilbert, M. Thomas P.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Ibis published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ornithologists' Union

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - The Seychelles Magpie-Robin Copsychus sechellarum is an IUCN Red-List Endangered species endemic to the Seychelles, whose population was reduced to eight individuals on a single island in the 1960s. Translocations from the remaining population to four additional islands have been an integral factor in their recovery, but the potential genetic consequences of their translocation history have not previously been explored. We resequenced the genomes of 141 individuals sampled across the five current island populations and analysed the data to characterize their population structure, as well as to explore suspected inbreeding. Overall, very low levels of heterozygosity were observed, all coupled with long homozygous segments that suggest recent inbreeding, probably the consequence of a population bottleneck in the 1960s. Three of the four translocated populations displayed less genetic diversity than the founder population from which they were taken, a familiar pattern observed as a result of the evolutionary force of genetic drift following founder events. Furthermore, and perhaps surprising given the recent time since the new populations were established, population structure was observed within these same three populations. New awareness of inbreeding in the Seychelles Magpie-Robin populations, and continued genetic monitoring, will allow for genetically informed management decisions. This is particularly prudent in maximizing the success of the future conservation translocation planned for this species.

AB - The Seychelles Magpie-Robin Copsychus sechellarum is an IUCN Red-List Endangered species endemic to the Seychelles, whose population was reduced to eight individuals on a single island in the 1960s. Translocations from the remaining population to four additional islands have been an integral factor in their recovery, but the potential genetic consequences of their translocation history have not previously been explored. We resequenced the genomes of 141 individuals sampled across the five current island populations and analysed the data to characterize their population structure, as well as to explore suspected inbreeding. Overall, very low levels of heterozygosity were observed, all coupled with long homozygous segments that suggest recent inbreeding, probably the consequence of a population bottleneck in the 1960s. Three of the four translocated populations displayed less genetic diversity than the founder population from which they were taken, a familiar pattern observed as a result of the evolutionary force of genetic drift following founder events. Furthermore, and perhaps surprising given the recent time since the new populations were established, population structure was observed within these same three populations. New awareness of inbreeding in the Seychelles Magpie-Robin populations, and continued genetic monitoring, will allow for genetically informed management decisions. This is particularly prudent in maximizing the success of the future conservation translocation planned for this species.

KW - avian conservation

KW - conservation genetics

KW - endangered species

KW - inbreeding

KW - passerine

KW - whole-genome resequencing

U2 - 10.1111/ibi.13023

DO - 10.1111/ibi.13023

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85118846596

VL - 164

SP - 396

EP - 410

JO - Ibis

JF - Ibis

SN - 0019-1019

IS - 2

ER -