Adaptive phenotypic and genomic divergence in the common chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) following niche expansion within a small oceanic island

According to models of ecological speciation, adaptation to adjacent, contrasting habitat types can lead to population divergence given strong enough environment-driven selection to counteract the homogenizing effect of gene flow. We tested this hypothesis in the common chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Recuerda, María, Palacios López, María Merce, Frías, Oscar, Hobson, Keith, Nabholz, Benoit, Blanco, Guillermo, Milá, Borja
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repositorio:Docta Complutense
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/121504
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/121504
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:575.1
576
Fringilla coelebs
Genome-environment association
Genome-wide association studies
Gloger's rule
Incipient speciation
Local adaptation
Aves
Ecología (Biología)
Genética
Zoología
2401 Biología Animal (Zoología)
2417 Biología Vegetal (Botánica)
2409 Genética
Descripción
Sumario:According to models of ecological speciation, adaptation to adjacent, contrasting habitat types can lead to population divergence given strong enough environment-driven selection to counteract the homogenizing effect of gene flow. We tested this hypothesis in the common chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) on the small island of La Palma, Canary Islands, where it occupies two markedly different habitats. Isotopic (δ13C, δ15N) analysis of feathers indicated that birds in the two habitats differed in ecosystem and/or diet, and analysis of phenotypic traits revealed significant differences in morphology and plumage colouration that are consistent with ecomorphological and ecogeographical predictions respectively. A genome-wide survey of single-nucleotide polymorphism revealed marked neutral structure that was consistent with geography and isolation by distance, suggesting low dispersal. In contrast, loci putatively under selection identified through genome-wide association and genotype-environment association analyses, revealed a marked adaptive divergence between birds in both habitats. Loci associated with phenotypic and environmental differences among habitats were distributed across the genome, as expected for polygenic traits involved in local adaptation. Our results suggest a strong role for habitat-driven local adaptation in population divergence in the chaffinches of La Palma, a process that appears to be facilitated by a strong reduction in effective dispersal distances despite the birds' high dispersal capacity.