[nysbirds-l] Fwd: Re: [BIRDWG01] Western Flycatcher: two species or one?

2015-11-23 Thread Ardith Bondi 




 Forwarded Message 
Subject: Re: [BIRDWG01] Western Flycatcher: two species or one?
Date: Sun, 22 Nov 2015 17:53:43 -0800
From: Andrew Rush 
Reply-To: Andrew Rush 
To: birdw...@listserv.ksu.edu

Hello all,

Because I am the primary author on the most recent genetic analysis of 
these species (mentioned in the post by Douglas Futuyma cited by Peter 
Post), I thought that I could add a little to this discussion. I 
recently finished my dissertation research, most of which focused on 
these two species. While it is true that the two species are admixed in 
their DNA over a large part of the West, the Pacific-slope populations 
west of the crest of the Sierra, Cascades, and Coast Ranges (i.e., the 
Pacific Slope) remain genetically and phenotypically distinct. We know 
that gene flow from interior populations to the west slope Pacific-slope 
populations occurs to some extent, but it does not result in widespread 
genetic mixing like it does on the east slope. So, it is a little more 
complicated than two species just merging (back) into one. Pacific-slope 
seems to be merging more into Cordilleran than Cordilleran is merging 
into Pacific-slope. I’m not sure taxonomists will take this nuance !
 into consideration when deciding what to do with these species, but 
from an evolutionary perspective, it is interesting. I will have at 
least a couple of more papers on this out soon.


As soon as you cross the crest of the Pacific Slope to the east side, 
you encounter mostly genetically intermediate birds with intermediate 
songs or calls. There is some proportion of admixed birds in populations 
all the way to the Black Hills and to northern Utah and Colorado. On the 
other hand, you almost never encounter birds with intermediate songs or 
calls on the west side and almost no birds are mixed in their DNA…and 
these are limited to areas like Mt. Shasta in California, which is very 
close to admixed populations.


So, if you have seen a Cordilleran Flycatcher in southern Colorado, New 
Mexico, or Arizona, you are probably safe…in terms of listing. If your 
Cordilleran Flycatcher is from Alberta, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, or the 
eastern parts of the coastal states, you have a higher likelihood of 
having seen an admixed bird.


One last thing in terms of identifying these species. I have not 
formally analyzed the position notes yet (i.e., ‘pee-o-weet’ and 
‘weet-seet’) but it seems that these change in a slightly different way 
than the songs geographically. I.e., you can encounter birds whose 
position note is more purely Cordilleran that has a more intermediate 
song type and a more intermediate genotype.


I hope this is interesting to some of you.

Andrew Rush



On Nov 22, 2015, at 5:23 PM, Peter Post  wrote:

In light of the recent discussion on "Western Flycatcher" I thought the post by 
evolutionary biologist and birder Douglas Futuyma, earlier today on NYS Birds, might be 
of interest.

http://birding.aba.org/message.php?mesid=1027591=NY01=New%20York

Peter

Peter Post
New York City
pwp...@nyc.rr.com





Archives: http://listserv.ksu.edu/archives/birdwg01.html


Archives: http://listserv.ksu.edu/archives/birdwg01.html




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ARCHIVES:
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[nysbirds-l] Fwd: Re: [BIRDWG01] Western Flycatcher: two species or one?

2015-11-23 Thread Ardith Bondi 




 Forwarded Message 
Subject: Re: [BIRDWG01] Western Flycatcher: two species or one?
Date: Sun, 22 Nov 2015 17:53:43 -0800
From: Andrew Rush 
Reply-To: Andrew Rush 
To: birdw...@listserv.ksu.edu

Hello all,

Because I am the primary author on the most recent genetic analysis of 
these species (mentioned in the post by Douglas Futuyma cited by Peter 
Post), I thought that I could add a little to this discussion. I 
recently finished my dissertation research, most of which focused on 
these two species. While it is true that the two species are admixed in 
their DNA over a large part of the West, the Pacific-slope populations 
west of the crest of the Sierra, Cascades, and Coast Ranges (i.e., the 
Pacific Slope) remain genetically and phenotypically distinct. We know 
that gene flow from interior populations to the west slope Pacific-slope 
populations occurs to some extent, but it does not result in widespread 
genetic mixing like it does on the east slope. So, it is a little more 
complicated than two species just merging (back) into one. Pacific-slope 
seems to be merging more into Cordilleran than Cordilleran is merging 
into Pacific-slope. I’m not sure taxonomists will take this nuance !
 into consideration when deciding what to do with these species, but 
from an evolutionary perspective, it is interesting. I will have at 
least a couple of more papers on this out soon.


As soon as you cross the crest of the Pacific Slope to the east side, 
you encounter mostly genetically intermediate birds with intermediate 
songs or calls. There is some proportion of admixed birds in populations 
all the way to the Black Hills and to northern Utah and Colorado. On the 
other hand, you almost never encounter birds with intermediate songs or 
calls on the west side and almost no birds are mixed in their DNA…and 
these are limited to areas like Mt. Shasta in California, which is very 
close to admixed populations.


So, if you have seen a Cordilleran Flycatcher in southern Colorado, New 
Mexico, or Arizona, you are probably safe…in terms of listing. If your 
Cordilleran Flycatcher is from Alberta, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, or the 
eastern parts of the coastal states, you have a higher likelihood of 
having seen an admixed bird.


One last thing in terms of identifying these species. I have not 
formally analyzed the position notes yet (i.e., ‘pee-o-weet’ and 
‘weet-seet’) but it seems that these change in a slightly different way 
than the songs geographically. I.e., you can encounter birds whose 
position note is more purely Cordilleran that has a more intermediate 
song type and a more intermediate genotype.


I hope this is interesting to some of you.

Andrew Rush



On Nov 22, 2015, at 5:23 PM, Peter Post  wrote:

In light of the recent discussion on "Western Flycatcher" I thought the post by 
evolutionary biologist and birder Douglas Futuyma, earlier today on NYS Birds, might be 
of interest.

http://birding.aba.org/message.php?mesid=1027591=NY01=New%20York

Peter

Peter Post
New York City
pwp...@nyc.rr.com





Archives: http://listserv.ksu.edu/archives/birdwg01.html


Archives: http://listserv.ksu.edu/archives/birdwg01.html




--

NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm

ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--