One-way ticket to paradise: new methods for analysis of genotype sequence data reveals the origin and evolutionary separation of Hawaiian hoary bat populations

We examine the genetic history and population status of Hawaiian hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus semotus), the most isolated bats on Earth, and their relationship to North American L. c. cinereus, through whole-genome analysis of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) mapped to a de novo-assembled reference genome. Profiles of genomic diversity and divergence indicate that Hawaiian hoary bats are very distinct from continental hoary bats, and form a monophyletic group, suggesting a single colonization event 0.52 Mya, followed by substantial differentiation between islands. A new phylogenetic method, based on a 10-state Markov model, recapitulates the pattern of inter-island divergence, consistent with a scenario in which Maui is central to the radiation across the archipelago, with the southward expansion to Hawai'i and westward to Oahu and Kauai. Because this endangered species is of conservation concern, a clearer understanding of the population genetics of this bat in the Hawaiian Islands is of timely importance.