Phylogeographic Population Structure of Red-Winged Blackbirds Assessed by Mitochondrial DNA

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 1988-03, Vol.85 (5), p.1558-1562
• Main Authors: Ball, R. Martin, Freeman, Scott, James, Frances C., Bermingham, Eldredge, Avise, John C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agelaius phoeniceus; Biological and medical sciences; Biological Sciences: Evolution; Biological taxonomies; Evolutionary genetics; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genes. Genome; Genotypes; Geographic distribution; Mice; Mitochondrial DNA; Molecular and cellular biology; Molecular genetics; Nucleotides; Phylogenetics; Population genetics; Population structure
• ISSN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.85.5.1558

A continent-wide survey of restriction-site variation in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of the Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) was conducted to assess the magnitude of phylogeographic population structure in an avian species. A total of 34 mtDNA genotypes was observed among the 127 specimens assayed by 18 restriction endonucleases. Nonetheless, population differentiation was minor, as indicated by (i) small genetic distances in terms of base substitutions per nucleotide site between mtDNA genotypes (maximum P ≈ 0.008) and by (ii) the widespread geographic distributions of particular mtDNA clones and phylogenetic arrays of clones. Extensive morphological differentiation among redwing populations apparently has occurred in the context of relatively little phylogenetic separation. A comparison between mtDNA data sets for Red-winged Blackbirds and deermice (Peromyscus maniculatus) also sampled from across North America shows that intraspecific population structures of these two species differ dramatically. The lower phylogeographic differentiation in redwings is probably due to historically higher levels of gene flow.