Data from: A longitudinal genetic survey identifies temporal shifts in the population structure of Dutch house sparrows

Dutch house sparrow (Passer domesticus) densities dropped by nearly 50% since the early 1980s, and similar collapses in population sizes have been reported across Europe. Whether, and to what extent, such relatively recent demographic changes are accompanied by concomitant shifts in the genetic population structure of this species needs further investigation. Therefore, we here explore temporal shifts in genetic diversity, genetic structure and effective sizes of seven Dutch house sparrow populations. To allow the most powerful statistical inference, historical populations were resampled at identical locations and each individual bird was genotyped using nine polymorphic microsatellites. Although the demographic history was not reflected by a reduction in genetic diversity, levels of genetic differentiation increased over time, and the original, panmictic population (inferred from the museum samples) diverged into two distinct genetic clusters. Reductions in census size were supported by a substantial reduction in effective population size, although to a smaller extent. As most studies of contemporary house sparrow populations have been unable to identify genetic signatures of recent population declines, results of this study underpin the importance of longitudinal genetic surveys to unravel cryptic genetic patterns.

自20世纪80年代初以来，荷兰家麻雀（Passer domesticus）的种群密度下降了近50%，欧洲多地亦相继报道了类似的种群规模骤减事件。这类相对近期的种群动态变化是否伴随该物种遗传种群结构的同步改变，以及改变的程度如何，仍有待进一步探究。为此，本研究针对荷兰7个家麻雀种群，探究其遗传多样性、遗传结构以及有效种群大小随时间的动态变化。为获得最具效力的统计推断结果，研究团队在与历史种群完全一致的采样地点开展了重采样，并利用9个多态性微卫星标记对每只个体进行基因分型。尽管种群的历史动态并未通过遗传多样性的降低体现出来，但遗传分化水平随时间推移显著升高，原本的随机交配种群（由博物馆样本推断得出）已分化为两个独立的遗传簇。尽管有效种群大小的下降幅度小于种群普查规模的下降幅度，但普查种群规模的减少得到了有效种群大小显著降低的佐证。由于多数针对当代家麻雀种群的研究均未能检测到近期种群衰退的遗传信号，本研究结果凸显了纵向遗传调查对于揭示隐蔽性遗传模式的重要意义。