Genetic divergence analysis of the Common Barn Owl Tyto alba (Scopoli, 1769) and the Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus (Pontoppidan, 1763) from southern Chile using COI sequence.

Nelson Colihueque,Margarita Parraguez,Alberto Gantz,Jaime Rau

doi:10.3897/zookeys.534.5953

Abstract

In this paper new mitochondrial COI sequences of Common Barn Owl Tyto alba (Scopoli, 1769) and Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus (Pontoppidan, 1763) from southern Chile are reported and compared with sequences from other parts of the World. The intraspecific genetic divergence (mean p-distance) was 4.6 to 5.5% for the Common Barn Owl in comparison with specimens from northern Europe and Australasia and 3.1% for the Short-eared Owl with respect to samples from north America, northern Europe and northern Asia. Phylogenetic analyses revealed three distinctive groups for the Common Barn Owl: (i) South America (Chile and Argentina) plus Central and North America, (ii) northern Europe and (iii) Australasia, and two distinctive groups for the Short-eared Owl: (i) South America (Chile and Argentina) and (ii) north America plus northern Europe and northern Asia. The level of genetic divergence observed in both species exceeds the upper limit of intraspecific comparisons reported previously for Strigiformes. Therefore, this suggests that further research is needed to assess the taxonomic status, particularly for the Chilean populations that, to date, have been identified as belonging to these species through traditional taxonomy.

Highlights

The Common Barn Owl Tyto alba (Scopoli, 1769) (Strigiformes, Tytonidae) and the Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus (Pontoppidan, 1763) (Strigiformes, Strigidae) are nocturnal owls usually found in open habitats such as farmland and grassland associated with humanized areas (Weick 2006)
The three major groups of Common Barn Owls inferred here by means of phylogenetic analysis of c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences (South America plus North America, Australasia and northern Europe) are similar to those identified in previous phylogenetic studies using other molecular markers (Wink et al 2004, Alaie and Aliabadian 2012)
This topology is in accordance with a recent study that used the COI sequence (Nijman and Aliabadian 2013), where strong evidence of a major divergence between New World and Old World clades was found

Summary

Introduction

The Common Barn Owl Tyto alba (Scopoli, 1769) (Strigiformes, Tytonidae) and the Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus (Pontoppidan, 1763) (Strigiformes, Strigidae) are nocturnal owls usually found in open habitats such as farmland and grassland associated with humanized areas (Weick 2006). The range of both species extends across several continents. The Common Barn Owl and the Short-eared Owl have been widely studied throughout most of their geographic range in Chile, studies have concentrated mainly on ecological aspects, e.g. diet, conservation and habitat (Raimilla et al 2012) Their levels of genetic divergence in comparison with populations in other geographic ranges, have received little attention. This is especially important given that Chilean populations of both species are peripheral populations in the southern hemisphere whose geographic isolation, as a consequence of the Andean mountains that act as a geographic barrier, may have led to evolutionary divergence

Methods

Results

Conclusion