Data from: A migratory divide in the painted bunting (Passerina ciris)

In the Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris), a North American songbird, populations on the Atlantic coast and interior southern United States are known to be allopatric during the breeding season, but efforts to map connectivity with wintering ranges have been largely inconclusive. Using genomic and morphological data from museum specimens and banded birds, we found evidence of three genetically differentiated Painted Bunting populations with distinct wintering ranges and molt-migration phenologies. In addition to confirming that the Atlantic coast population remains allopatric throughout the annual cycle, we identified an unexpected migratory divide within the interior breeding range. Populations breeding in Louisiana winter on the Yucatán Peninsula, and are parapatric with other interior populations that winter in mainland Mexico and Central America. Across the interior breeding range, genetic ancestry is also associated with variation in wing length, suggesting that selection may be promoting morphological divergence in populations with different migration strategies.

针对北美鸣禽彩鹀（Painted Bunting，学名*Passerina ciris*）的已有研究表明，其大西洋海岸种群与美国南部内陆种群在繁殖季呈异域分布（allopatric）格局，但此前尝试厘清其与越冬分布区连通性的研究均未获得明确结论。本研究借助博物馆标本与环志鸟类的基因组学及形态学数据，发现了三个具备独特越冬分布区与换羽迁徙物候（molt-migration phenologies）的遗传分化彩鹀种群。本研究不仅证实大西洋海岸种群在全年生活史中均保持异域分布格局，还在内陆繁殖区内发现了此前未被报道的迁徙分界：在路易斯安那州繁殖的种群会在尤卡坦半岛越冬，它们与在墨西哥本土及中美洲越冬的其他内陆种群呈邻域分布（parapatric）格局。在内陆繁殖区范围内，种群的遗传血统还与翅长变异存在关联，这表明自然选择可能在推动不同迁徙策略种群间的形态分化。