Using DNA barcodes to evaluate the level of endemism and isolation in the avifauna of the Central Sierras in Córdoba, Argentina

BUKOWSKI BELÉN; LAVINIA OBLANCA PABLO DAMIÁN; TRUJILLO-ARIAS NATALIA; KOPUCHIAN CECILIA; TUBARO PABLO LUIS; LIJTMAER DARÍO A.

Guelph

Congreso; 6th International Barcode of Life Conference; 2015

University of Guelph

Background: The Andes mountains constitute one of the main factors promoting Neotropical diversification, but the role of other highland systems has been barely studied. The large, standardized barcode library of the birds of the region provides a unique opportunity for their analysis. In this context, we assessed the level of endemism in the avifauna of the Central Sierras in Córdoba, Argentina, to evaluate the effect of its geographic isolation from the Andes. There are 11 bird species that include subspecies endemic to the area, but none of them has been evaluated using molecular markers yet.Results: We studied 7 of these 11 species by obtaining the barcodes (and in some cases cytochrome b) of specimens from the Central Sierras and comparing them with those of other populations of these species in Argentina. The analysis of genetic divergence and haplotype networks, supported when possible through AMOVAs, indicated that in 3 of these species (Cinclodes atacamensis, Catamenia inornata and Phrygilus unicolor) the population in the Central Sierras is differentiated from those of other regions of Argentina. In 3 of the remaining species (Muscisaxicola rufivertex, Asthenes modesta and Phrygilus plebejus) there is a varying degree of differentiation but results were not conclusive. Finally, there is no differentiation in the case of Sturnella loyca, the only species of this analysis that inhabits both high and low areas and therefore has a continuous distribution between the Central Sierras and the Andes.Significance: While further analyses including more molecular markers, morphology and vocalizations are needed, some avian species were shown to have populations in the Central Sierras that are genetically differentiated, and therefore likely evolutionary isolated, from other populations of southern South America. This clearly illustrates how the use of barcode sequences can constitute an initial step towards understanding evolutionary patterns and the processes generating them.