Limited genetic differentiation between acoustically divergent populations of urban and rural silvereyes (Zosterops lateralis)

The bioacoustic attributes of vocalisations made by birds in urban environments often differ markedly from those of rural conspecifics. Whether such differences are result from genetic divergence between urban and rural populations, or from plasticity or cultural evolution of song remains poorly und...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Evolutionary ecology 2013-03, Vol.27 (2), p.381-391
Main Authors: Potvin, Dominique A., Parris, Kirsten M., Mulder, Raoul A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Animal communication
Animal Ecology
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Birds
Conspecifics
Ecology
Evolutionary Biology
Genetic aspects
Genetic diversity
Genetic research
Life Sciences
Morphology
Original Paper
Plant Sciences
Population genetics
Rural areas
Rural populations
Urban environments
Urban noise
Urbanization
Zosterops lateralis
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Summary:The bioacoustic attributes of vocalisations made by birds in urban environments often differ markedly from those of rural conspecifics. Whether such differences are result from genetic divergence between urban and rural populations, or from plasticity or cultural evolution of song remains poorly understood. Silvereyes ( Zosterops lateralis ) show evidence of acoustic adaptation to urban noise, modifying both their songs and calls in cities when compared to rural areas. We investigated whether these differences were associated with corresponding morphological and neutral genetic differences. Across six pairs of geographically separate urban and rural populations, all morphological traits measured were similar. Furthermore, genetic analyses of variation at nine microsatellite loci revealed high levels of genetic connectivity between populations, and similar levels of heterozygosity in both habitat types. Consistent directional shifts in song attributes of city birds across large geographic areas thus do not appear to be accompanied by associated morphological or neutral genetic divergence.
ISSN:0269-7653
1573-8477
DOI:10.1007/s10682-012-9591-1