Alaska Science Center


Genetic diversity of a Hawaiian Islands endemic: The Laysan Duck

To quantify genetic diversity in the Laysan Duck of Hawaii and provide information on past and future reintroductions of birds to new island habitats.

Abstract


Conservation of genetic biodiversity in endangered wildlife populations is an important challenge to address since the loss of alleles and genetic drift may influence future adaptability. Reintroduction aims to re-establish species to restored or protected ecosystems; however, moving a subset of individuals may result in loss of gene variants during the managementinduced bottleneck (i.e. translocation). The endangered Laysan teal Anas laysanensis was once widespread across the Hawaiian archipelago, but became isolated on Laysan Island (415 ha) from the mid-1800s until 2004 when a translocation to Midway Atoll (596 ha) was undertaken to reduce extinction risks. We compared genetic diversity and quantified variation at microsatellite loci sampled from 230 individuals from the wild populations at Laysan (1999 to 2009) and Midway (2007 to 2010; n = 134 Laysan, n = 96 Midway birds). We identified polymorphic markers by screening nuclear microsatellites (N = 83). Low nuclear variation was detected, consistent with the species’ insular isolation and historical bottleneck. Six of 83 microsatellites were polymorphic. We found limited but similar estimates of allelic richness (2.58 alleles per locus) and heterozygosity within populations. However, 2 rare alleles found in the Laysan source population were not present in Midway’s reintroduced population, and a unique allele was discovered in an individual on Midway. Differentiation between island populations was low (FST = 0.6%), but statistically significant. Our results indicate that genetic drift had little effect on offspring generations 3 to 6 yr postrelease and demonstrate the utility of using known founder events to help quantify genetic capture during translocations and to inform management decisions.
Products
Title Type
Microsatellite variation and rare alleles in a bottlenecked Hawaiian Islands endemic: implications for reintroductionsPublication
Laysan Teal (Anas laysanensis) Microsatellite DNA Data; Laysan Island 1999-2009, Midway Atoll 2007-2010Metadata Record
Laysan Teal (Anas laysanensis) Microsatellite DNA Data; Laysan Island 1999-2009, Midway Atoll 2007-2010Data

Contacts

Pearce, John M., 907.786.7094

Status: completed
Start Year: 2010
End Year: 2015
Project Sites

Collaborators
USGS - Alaska Science Center

USGS Mission Area and Program

Keywords
Biological Classification > Animals/Vertebrates > Birds > Ducks/Geese/Swans
Biosphere > Ecological Dynamics > Species/Population Interactions > Endangered Species
Biosphere > Ecological Dynamics > Species/Population Interactions > Indigenous/Native Species
Biosphere > Terrestrial Ecosystems > Islands