Population structure and phylogeography of the Gentoo Penguin (Pygoscelis papua) across the Scotia Arc

Climate change, fisheries pressure on penguin prey, and direct human disturbance of wildlife have all been implicated in causing large shifts in the abundance and distribution of penguins in the Southern Ocean. Without mark-recapture studies, understanding how colonies form and, by extension, how ranges shift is challenging. Genetic studies, particularly focused on newly established colonies, provide a snapshot of colonisation and can reveal the extent to which shifts in abundance and occupancy result from changes in demographic rates (e.g., reproduction and survival) or migration among suitable patches of habitat. Here we describe the population structure of a colonial seabird breeding across a large latitudinal range in the Southern Ocean. Using multilocus microsatellite genotype data from 510 Gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua) individuals from 14 colonies along the Scotia Arc and Antarctic Peninsula, together with mitochondrial DNA data, we find strong genetic differentiation between ...气候变化、针对企鹅猎物的渔业捕捞压力，以及野生动物遭受的直接人类干扰，均被证实是导致南大洋企鹅种群数量与分布发生显著变化的关键因素。若缺乏标记重捕研究（mark-recapture studies），解析企鹅群落的形成机制，进而推演其分布范围的变动过程，将极具挑战性。遗传学研究，尤其是聚焦于新建群落的相关研究，能够直观展现种群定殖的动态图景，并可揭示种群数量与分布范围的变化在多大程度上源于种群动态参数（如繁殖率、存活率）的改变，或是适宜生境斑块间的迁移活动。本研究针对南大洋内跨大范围纬度区间繁殖的群居海鸟，阐述其种群结构特征。本研究整合了斯科舍弧与南极半岛沿岸14个群落的510只巴布亚企鹅（Gentoo penguin, Pygoscelis papua）个体的多位点微卫星（microsatellite）基因型数据，以及线粒体DNA（mitochondrial DNA）数据，发现不同群体间存在显著的遗传分化……