Phylogeography indicates incomplete genetic divergence among phenotypically differentiated montane forest populations of Atlapetes albinucha (Aves, Passerellidae)

By

Rocha-Méndez, Alberto
Sánchez González, Luis Antonio
Arbeláez Cortés, Enrique
Navarro-Sigüenza, Adolfo G. (Adolfo Gerardo)

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2018

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

809

Pages

125-148

Subjects

allotypy , coalescent , Last Glacial Maximum , montane forest , mtDNA , phylogeography , Pleistocene , plumage differentiation

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.809.28743

 

Abstract

The White-naped Brushfinch (Atlapetesalbinucha) comprises up to eight allopatric subspecies mainly identified by the color of the underparts (gray vs. yellow belly). Yellow and gray bellied forms were long considered two different species (A.albinuchaandA.gutturalis), but they are presently considered as one polytypic species. Previous studies in the genusAtlapeteshave shown that the phylogeny, based on molecular data, is not congruent with characters such as coloration, ecology, or distributional patterns. The phylogeography ofA.albinuchawas analyzed using two mitochondrial DNA regions from samples including 24 different localities throughout montane areas from eastern Mexico to Colombia. Phylogeographic analyses using Bayesian inference, maximum likelihood and haplotype network revealed incomplete geographic structure. The genetic diversity pattern is congruent with a recent process of expansion, which is also supported by Ecological Niche Models (ENM) constructed for the species and projected into three past scenarios. Overall, the results revealed an incomplete genetic divergence among populations ofA.albinuchain spite of the species’ ample range, which contrasts with previous results of phylogeographic patterns in other Neotropical montane forest bird species, suggesting idiosyncratic evolutionary histories for different taxa throughout the region.