Here we go again!
How many have twitched this one?
Or perhaps "The findings have important conservational implications" is
code for "We want more money?"
or is Global Warming to blame.
Regards
Ian
richard baxter wrote:
For those on birding-aus interested.
Regards
Richard Baxter
Tony Pym <> wrote:
A paper in the journal Molecular Ecology by Pierre Jouventin et al has shown,
as expected, that the Rockhopper Penguin should be split and recognised as two
species, E. chrysocome and Eudyptes moseleyi .
For information, here's an abstract:
The taxonomic status of populations of rockhopper penguins (Eudyptes chrysocome)
is still enigmatic. Northern populations differ from southern ones in breeding
phenology, song characteristics and head ornaments used as mating signals. We
conducted a molecular analysis using mitochondrial DNA sequencing to test if there
is a gene flow barrier between northern (subtropical) populations and southern
(subantarctic) populations in relation to the Subtropical Convergence, a major
ecological boundary for marine organisms. Sequences of the control region and the
ND2 gene were analysed in rockhopper penguins and in the macaroni penguin (Eudyptes
chrysolophus), a closely related species. Genetic distances and phylogenetic
analyses showed a clear split into three clades, two rockhopper clades and the
macaroni penguin. Moreover, ÈST and gene flow estimates also suggested genetic
structuring within the northern rockhoppers. Our results add further support to the
notion that the two
rockhopper penguin taxa, often considered as two subspecies, can be recognized
as two species E. chrysocome and E. moseleyi. The divergence in mating signals
found between these two taxa seems to have occurred recently and relatively
rapidly. Thus, the behavioural changes may have been enough to isolate these
taxa without the need for morphological differentiation. The findings have
important conservational implications, since E. moseleyi is far less abundant
than E. chrysocome, but more populations may warrant an uplisting to endangered
status if full species status should be recognized for more subpopulations.
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