Barcoding the Birds of the Palearctic

Kevin C.R. Kerr

University of GuelphBiodiversity Institute of Ontario

Canada

Collaborators: S. Birks, S. Rohwer, R. Faucett, M. Kalyakin, P.D.N. Hebert

Introduction

© S. Birks

Sources for specimens

Burke Museum, University of Washington

• Demonstrated well-preserved tissue collection in previous collaboration

• Houses voucher specimens for tissues

• Boasts an “unsurpassed modern collection from many localities throughout the former Soviet Union and Mongolia”

Specimen selection

No formal list has been decided on yet for the Palearctic

• “A Field Guide to the Birds of Russia” was used as a guide to pick samples

• Species were reviewed in systematic order, searched for in the Burke’s online database (including specimens collected in Russia, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan)

DNA sources

Feathers are not useful for initial sampling effort

Museums are the ideal starting point

Maintaining a 96–well format facilitates high throughput

Receive tissues in “Matrix” boxes to help maintain organization

The Analytical Chain

Specimen

Sample

Extract Amplify Sequence

Photographs

Collection data

Online barcode library

Data management

Data management

Data management

Quickly outlines:

Information on voucher specimen

Taxonomic information

Geographic locality

Specimen images

Data management

Quickly outlines:

Information on voucher specimen

Taxonomic information

Geographic locality

Specimen images

Data management

Data management

n = 6

n = 1

© A. Cutts

Results

Summary:

213 of 234 species 626 sequenced of 803 specimens 2.9 replicates per species

Mean intraspecific distance = 0.52% (versus North American 0.23%)

Mean congeneric distance = 8.83% (versus North American 5.9%)

• Geographic range of samples collected to date

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1 2 3 4 5 6

Number of replicates

Nu

mb

er o

f sp

ecie

s

Number of Replicates per Species

Results

n = 6

n = 1

© A. Cutts

Results

Summary:

213 of 234 species 626 sequenced of 803 specimens 2.9 replicates per species

Mean intraspecific distance = 0.52% (versus North American 0.29%)

Mean congeneric distance = 8.83% (versus North American 5.9%)

Results: Taxon resolution

Only 1 “lumped” pair of taxa has been found:

1 Anatidae1 Scolopacidae1 Columbidae1 Caprimulgidae

2 Picidae2 Hirundinidae1 Troglodytidae5 Turdidae

14 Species with splits

Results: Species discovery

Old world“redstarts”

Results: Species discovery

Taxon identification tree illustrates the deep divergences exhibited in some species

Palearctic vs Nearctic

© S. Valjakka

Palearctic vs Nearctic

• Comparisons to Nearctic conspecifics is variable• NO Palearctic species LUMPS with a Nearctic species

Preliminary points

1. Patterns of divergence emulate those observed in the North American birds

2. The addition of Palearctic birds does not confuse the results from the original dataset

New contributions

Zoological Museum of Moscow University (Mikhail Kalyakin):

• An additional 65 species (299 species in total)

• An additional 352 specimens (1,155 specimens in total)

Collaboration & Coordination

SwedenNorwayU.K.DenmarkHolland

France

Portugal

Italy Israel Iran

Russia

Japan

China

Taiwan

Collaboration & Coordination

Collaboration & Coordination

Lessons from the Palearctic Working Group:

1. Open communication

2. Structure and organization

3. Action

Laboratory

Database

Collections

Funding & Support

The Hebert Lab

BOLD

The Moore Foundation

Canadian Wildlife Service

Burke Museum staff:

Sharon Birks

Sievert Rohwer

Rob Faucett

Chris Wood

Acknowledgements

Zoological Museum of Moscow University:

Mikhail Kalyakin