Comparative population genomics reveals key barriers to dispersal in Southern Ocean penguins

• Published in: Molecular Ecology
• Main Authors: Clucas, Gemma, Younger, Jane, Kao, Damian, Emmerson, Louise, Southwell, Colin, Wienecke, Barbara, Rogers, Alex, Bost, Charles-André, Miller, Gary, L., Polito, Michael, Lelliott, Patrick, Handley, Patrick, Crofts, Sarah, Phillips, Richard, A., Dunn, Michael, Miller, Karen, Hart, Tom
• Other Authors: Department of Zoology Oxford, University of Oxford, 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)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-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), Division of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Australia, The University of Western Australia (UWA), Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University (LSU), Australian School of Advanced Medicine Australia, Macquarie University, DST/NRF Centre of Excellence - Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology South Africa, Nelson Mandela University Port Elizabeth, Falklands Conservation, British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Australian Institute of Marine Science Western Australia
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2018
• Subjects: Aptenodytes; genetic differentiation; Polar Front; population genomics; Pygoscelis; RAD-Seq; [SDV.BID.EVO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Populations and Evolution [q-bio.PE]; [SDV.GEN.GA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Genetics/Animal genetics; [SDV.GEN.GPO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Genetics/Populations and Evolution [q-bio.PE]; Southern Ocean; Antarc*; Antarctica; Aptenodytes forsteri; Pygoscelis adeliae
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-02024846; https://hal.science/hal-02024846/document; https://hal.science/hal-02024846/file/CLUCAS%20Comparative%20population%20genomics%20Molec%20ecol%202018.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.14896

International audience The mechanisms that determine patterns of species dispersal are important factors in the production and maintenance of biodiversity. Understanding these mechanisms helps to forecast the responses of species to environmental change. Here, we used a comparative framework and genomewide data obtained through RAD‐Seq to compare the patterns of connectivity among breeding colonies for five penguin species with shared ancestry, overlapping distributions and differing ecological niches, allowing an examination of the intrinsic and extrinsic barriers governing dispersal patterns. Our findings show that at‐sea range and oceanography underlie patterns of dispersal in these penguins. The pelagic niche of emperor (Aptenodytes forsteri), king (A. patagonicus), Adélie (Pygoscelis adeliae) and chinstrap (P. antarctica) penguins facilitates gene flow over thousands of kilometres. In contrast, the coastal niche of gentoo penguins (P. papua) limits dispersal, resulting in population divergences. Oceanographic fronts also act as dispersal barriers to some extent. We recommend that forecasts of extinction risk incorporate dispersal and that management units are defined by at‐sea range and oceanography in species lacking genetic data.