SNP genotyping of Lord Howe woodhen (Hypotaenidia sylvestris) from museum skins and contemporary blood samples

These data are from a conservation genetics project investigating population structure, dispersal and genetic bottlenecks in the Lord Howe woodhen Hypotaenidia sylvestris. This species recovered from near extinction in the 1970s to approximately 250 individuals in 2017. We used single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to genotype samples of both the contemporary population and 100-year-old museum specimens. We discovered strong population structuring between mountain and lowland "subpopulations" in both the contemporary and historic populations. This is indicative of restricted dispersal at fine spatial scales associated with rugged topography. There was also a decline in genetic diversity over the past century. We recommend ongoing genetic monitoring and translocations to increase genetic diversity within the re-established lowland subpopulation which although numerically stronger is genetically depleted relative to the mountain subpopulation.本数据集源自一项针对豪勋爵岛秧鸡（Lord Howe woodhen, Hypotaenidia sylvestris）的保护遗传学研究项目，旨在解析其种群结构、扩散模式及遗传瓶颈效应。该物种曾于20世纪70年代濒临灭绝，至2017年种群数量恢复至约250只个体。本研究采用单核苷酸多态性（single nucleotide polymorphisms, SNPs）标记，对当代种群样本以及百年历史博物馆标本进行基因分型。研究发现，无论在当代种群还是历史种群中，山地与低地‘亚种群’之间均存在显著的种群遗传结构分化。该现象表明该物种在精细空间尺度上的扩散受到限制，这与当地崎岖的地形特征密切相关。同时，过去一个世纪以来该物种的遗传多样性出现了下降。据此，我们建议开展持续的遗传监测，并实施易地种群移植，以提升重建低地亚种群的遗传多样性：该亚种群尽管种群数量规模更大，但相较于山地亚种群仍存在遗传多样性匮乏的问题。