From a local barcoding initiative to a continental-scale, multi-institutional assessment of avian diversification in the Neotropics

LAVINIA OBLANCA PABLO DAMIÁN; ESCALANTE PATRICIA; GARCÍA NATALIA C.; BARREIRA ANA S.; TRUJILLO-ARIAS NATALIA; TUBARO PABLO LUIS; NAOKI KAZUYA; MIYAKI CRISTINA Y.; SANTOS FABRICIO R.; LIJTMAER DARÍO A.

Ottawa

Congreso; 6th International Barcode of Life Conference; 2015

International Barcode of Life y Biodiversity Institute of Ontario

Background: In 2005, the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales joinedthe All Birds Barcoding Initiative aiming to obtain the DNA barcodes ofthe birds of Argentina. As the project expanded its frontiers to Bolivia, incollaboration with local institutions, several cases of deep intraspecificdivergence were revealed. Among them, that of the Red-crowned AntTanager (Habia rubica) stood out because of the strikingly high (around 7%)COI distance found between the allopatric populations of the AtlanticForest in Argentina and the Yungas?Amazonia complex in Bolivia. Independently,a similar pattern of east?west divergence was found in Mexicoand Middle America as part of the project to barcode the birds of Mexicoand Guatemala. All this eventually led to the joint effort of Argentinian,Bolivian, Brazilian, and Mexican researchers to unveil the evolutionaryhistory of H. rubica at a continental scale. Results: We explored the phylogeographicpatterns of intraspecific diversity within H. rubica throughoutits widespread but disjunct distribution from Mexico to Argentina.We performed phylogenetic, phylogeographic and genetic populationanalyses based on COI and other mitochondrial and nuclear genes, complementedwith the assessment of coloration and behavioural differentiation.The evolutionary history of H. rubica through the last 5 millionyears seems to have been shaped by the uplift of the Northern Andes, theformation of the Isthmus of Panama, the establishment of the openvegetation corridor, and Quaternary climatic fluctuations. This resultedin levels of genetic, morphological, and behavioural divergence that justifyconsidering at least three different species within this diversifiedlineage. Significance: Our study clearly illustrateshowlocal screening ofdiversity through DNA barcodes can grow into large-scale, multiinstitutionalcollaborative projects able to provide meaningful insightsinto the evolutionary history of certain regions and taxa of interest.