Barn owls (Tyto alba) in western North America: phylogeographic structure, connectivity, and genetic diversity

Abstract

The barn owl (Tyto alba) is a non-migratory species widely distributed across much of North America in areas with extensive old-field and grassland habitat and without extensive winter snow cover. We investigated the genetic diversity and phylogeographic patterns of barn owl populations in western North America, ranging from British Columbia (BC) to southern California, and one eastern population from Pennsylvania. We also determined the genetic distinctiveness of a population off the coast of southern California, Santa Barbara Island, as management plans to control the local owl population are being considered to decrease predation rate on the now threatened Scripps’s Murrelet (Synthliboramphus scrippsi). Using 8 polymorphic microsatellite markers (N = 126) and ND2 mitochondrial sequences (N = 37), we found little to no genetic structure among all sampled regions, with the exception of Santa Barbara Island. The BC mainland population, despite its northwestern geographically peripheral location and ongoing habitat degradation, is not genetically depauperate. However, individuals from Vancouver Island, likewise a peripheral population in BC, exhibited the lowest genetic diversity of all sampled locations. The low global FST value (0.028) estimated from our study suggests that old-field agricultural habitats are well connected in North America. Since the BC population has declined by about 50 % within the last three decades, it is vital to focus on preserving the remaining barn owl habitats in BC to allow successful establishment from neighbouring populations. Additionally, our microsatellite data revealed that the population on Santa Barbara Island showed genetic divergence from its continental counterpart. Mitochondrial data, however, demonstrated that this island population is not a monophyletic lineage containing unique haplotypes, and hence cannot be designated as an Evolutionarily Significant Unit.