Cryptic speciation in gentoo penguins is driven by geographic isolation and regional marine conditions: Unforeseen vulnerabilities to global change

• Published in: Diversity and Distributions
• Main Authors: Pertierra, Luis, Segovia, Nicolás, Noll, Daly, Martinez, Pablo, Pliscoff, Patricio, Barbosa, Andrés, Aragón, Pedro, Raya Rey, Andrea, Pistorius, Pierre, Trathan, Phil, Polanowski, Andrea, Bonadonna, Francesco, Le Bohec, Céline, Bi, Ke, Wang‐Claypool, Cynthia, González‐Acuña, Daniel, Dantas, Gisele, Bowie, Rauri, Poulin, Elie, Vianna, Juliana
• Other Authors: Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva (Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales), Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN), Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad (IEB), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (UC), Universidade Federal de Sergipe, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Madrid (CSIC), Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e islas del Atlántico Sur (UNTDF), National Research Foundation Centre of Excellence at the Percy FitzPatrick Institute, British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Australian Antarctic Division (AAD), Australian Government, Department of the Environment and Energy, Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD France-Sud )-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Département Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie (DEPE-IPHC), Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien (IPHC), Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Museum of Vertebrate Zoology Berkeley, University of California Berkeley, University of California-University of California
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2020
• Subjects: [SDE]Environmental Sciences; Antarctic; Kerguelen; Kerguelen Island; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica; Gentoo penguin; Pygoscelis papua
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02870071; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02870071/document; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02870071/file/Pertierra_2020%20Hal.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.13072

International audience Aim The conservation of biodiversity is hampered by data deficiencies, with many new species and subspecies awaiting description or reclassification. Population genomics and ecological niche modelling offer complementary new tools for uncovering functional units of phylogenetic diversity. We hypothesize that phylogenetically delineated lineages of gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua) distributed across Antarctica and sub-Antarctic Islands are subject to spatially explicit ecological conditions that have limited gene flow, facilitating genetic differentiation, and thereby speciation processes. Location Antarctica and sub-Antarctic area. Methods We identify divergent lineages for gentoo penguins using ddRAD-seq and mtDNA, and generated species distribution models (SDMs) based on terrestrial and marine parameters. Results Analyses of our genomic data supports the existence of four major lineages of gentoo penguin: (i) spanning the sub-Antarctic archipelagos north of the Antarctic Polar Front (APF); (ii) Kerguelen Island; (iii) South America; and (iv) across maritime Antarctic and the Scotia Arc archipelagos. The APF, a major current system around Antarctica, acts as the most important barrier separating regional sister lineages. Our ecological analyses spanning both the terrestrial (breeding sites) and marine (feeding sites) realms recover limited niche overlap among the major lineages of gentoo penguin. We observe this pattern to correspond more closely with regional differentiation of marine conditions than to terrestrial macroenvironmental features. Main conclusions Recognition of regional genetic lineages as discrete evolutionary entities that occupy distinct ecological niches and also differ morphologically should be considered a priority for conservation. Gentoo penguins provide a good example of how conservation policy can be directly impacted by new insights obtained through the integration of larger genomic datasets with novel approaches to ecological modelling. This is particularly ...