Demographic history and high-altitude adaptation in a specialized species, Andean torrent duck (Merganetta armata)

Population variation, and in particular genetic variation is the ultimate source for diversification and adaptation to a variable environment. In the Andes, the Torrent Duck is an ideal riverine specialist species to study evolutionary processes related to acclimatization and adaptation in traits associated with hypoxia tolerance. The development of this research will lay the foundation to understand demographic processes, adaptation, and speciation, but also provide specific new information about distribution, population sizes, gene flow, recruitment, and recent adult dispersal that may assist in the management and conservation of this species in their fragile Andean riverine habitats.