Weak population structure in the North American House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)
Data files
Jan 10, 2025 version files 261.71 MB
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howr_ddrad_raw_variants.vcf.gz
261.71 MB
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README.md
1 KB
Abstract
Cryptic genetic differentiation is being increasingly documented in birds and other organisms using genome-wide variation. A recent example of cryptic genetic differentiation in a widespread species with conserved morphology is the northern house wren (Troglodytes aedon). We found that, despite extremely similar morphology and no documented vocal differences, the two subspecies of the northern house wren, T. a. aedon (eastern) and T. a. parkmanii (western), exhibited both nuclear and mitochondrial genomic differentiation. Individuals present along the Front Range of the Colorado Rocky Mountains possessed nuclear genetic variation intermediate between T. a. aedon and T. a. parkmanii; additionally, both divergent mitochondrial lineages, corresponding to the western and eastern northern house wren populations, occur in Colorado. However, the dynamics of this putative contact zone (i.e., amount of hybridization or introgression) and the degree of differentiation between the two subspecies remain uncharacterized. To expand our understanding of northern house wren population genetic differentiation and explore the possibility of hybridization, we used a double digest restriction-site associated (ddRAD) approach and sequenced 127 northern house wrens, including 109 individuals from across Colorado and Wyoming, as well as 9 individuals each from eastern and western allopatric regions. Our results highlight that T. a. aedon occur significantly further west than previously thought and provide evidence for weak population structure within the northern house wren while generally setting the stage for future investigations of northern house wren population genomics and the genetic basis of cryptic speciation.
README: Weak population structure in the North American House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.83bk3jb37
Description of the data and file structure
Avian diversification across North America has been extensively documented in many groups. However, significant differences in plumage and song between study groups have long been a hallmark of this research. This dataset was collected to explore potential cryptic population differentiation in the Northern House Wren (Troglodytes aedon). This dataset includes ddRAD sequences from 128 House Wrens collected across California, Colorado, and the east coast of the united states.
Files and variables
File: howr_ddrad_raw_variants.vcf.gz
Description: This is a raw VCF file containing 128 ddRAD sequences of* T. aedon*
Access information
Other publicly accessible locations of the data:
- National Institute of Health Sequence Read Archive Project PRJNA1016398