GENOMIC VARIATION REVEALS PLEISTOCENE-DRIVEN GENETIC DIVERGENCE AND
CONTEMPORARY TRANS-OCEANIC GENE FLOW IN A MIGRATORY BIRD
Abstract
The relative contributions of past and present evolutionary processes in
shaping population genetic differentiation can be difficult to
ascertain, especially in highly mobile animals. The Northern Gannet
(Morus bassanus; hereafter, gannet) is a migratory colonial seabird that
is widely distributed across the North Atlantic Ocean. Despite strong
dispersal abilities, decades of banding and tracking studies indicate
that the North Atlantic is a barrier for seasonal migration of gannets:
gannets breeding in North America winter along the southeastern coast of
USA and Mexico, while European breeders winter along the western
European and African coasts. However, telemetry recently revealed that
some gannets migrate across the ocean, suggesting that trans-Atlantic
gene flow is possible. We investigated patterns of genomic variation
among gannets from 12 colonies across the species’ range using double
digest restriction-site associated sequencing (ddRADseq). Indices of
genetic differentiation, principal component analysis, a Bayesian
clustering method, and discriminant analysis of principal components all
indicated that gannets breeding in North America versus Europe differ
genetically, in accordance with segregation at both breeding and
non-breeding areas. However, Bayesian assignment methods indicated that
low, unidirectional introgression occurs from Europe into North America,
suggesting that the North Atlantic is a semi-permeable barrier to gene
flow in gannets. Evolutionary modeling suggested that the two genetic
populations originated in separate refugia during the Pleistocene and
underwent secondary contact during the Holocene. These results are
consistent with results of previous studies and provide direct evidence
that seasonal migratory behaviour can influence population genetic
structure in a highly mobile organism.