[Birdtalk] FW: [IBLE] possible splits and lumps of bird species

[James D. McIntyre]

Below is part of an email from Birding community e-bulletin about possible
upcoming splits and lumps of bird species.  



Denise Hughes 
Caldwell, ID

 

Birding Community E-bulletin - April 2007

 

BARCODE SPLITS AND LUMPS
 
It was announced in February that genetic testing among North American birds
may have revealed as many as 15 potential new species. Revealing the
Canadian-led results were scientists from the University of Guelph (the
Biodiversity Institute of Ontario) and Rockefeller University, along with
colleagues at the Smithsonian Institution, the Canadian Wildlife Service,
and the Royal Ontario Museum. The researchers discovered the 15 potential
new species among 643 types of birds studied between Arctic Canada and
Florida.
 
No less surprising, the study revealed that a number of birds currently
classified as separate species are so genetically similar that they could
actually represent varieties of the same species. The study revealed 14
pairs of birds with separate identities that were almost genetic "twins," a
trio of birds representing a DNA "triplet," and eight gull taxa that were
practically identical. The study determined that many of these species are
actually indistinguishable to the human eye and ear.
 
Look-alike taxa representing 15 potential "splits" include Northern Fulmar,
Solitary Sandpiper, Western Screech-Owl, Warbling Vireo, Mexican Jay,
Western Scrub-Jay, Common Raven, Mountain Chickadee, Bushtit, Winter Wren,
Marsh Wren, Bewick's Wren, Hermit Thrush, Curve-billed Thrasher, and Eastern
Meadowlark.
 
The "lumps" of "virtually identical" taxa potentially include: Snow Goose
and Ross's Goose; Black, Mallard and Mottled Duck; Blue-winged and Cinnamon
Teal; King and Common Eider; Western and Clark's Grebe; Laughing and
Franklin's Gull; California, Herring, Thayer's, Iceland, Lesser
Black-backed, Western, Glaucous-winged and Glaucous Gull; Red-naped and
Red-breasted Sapsucker; Black-billed and Yellow-billed Magpie; American and
Northwestern Crow; Townsend's and Hermit Warbler; Golden-crowned and
White-crowned Sparrow; Dark-eyed and Yellow-eyed Junco; Snow and McKay's
Bunting; Great-tailed and Boat-tailed Grackle;  and Common and Hoary
Redpoll.
 
DNA barcode sequences are very short, and they can apparently be obtained
relatively quickly and inexpensively in the laboratory. These tests reveal
what amounts to a genetic "barcode" for each bird that is similar to the
black-and-white parallel lines found on food packages at supermarkets. Paul
D.N. Hebert from the University of Guelph, maintains that this genetic
process may prove to be a  "master key for identifying species, one whose
power will rise with increased taxon coverage and with faster, cheaper
sequencing."
 
Current controversy surrounding the DNA bar-coding system derives not so
much from the method itself, but from assertions that the process would
supercede existing and long-standing taxonomic theories. The technique does
suggest that DNA bar-coding in the future should stand alongside other
traditional taxonomic tools to combine morphological, behavioral, and
genetic investigations in order to more accurately determine exactly what
constitutes a species. DNA bar coding will provide an additional tool for
more traditional and integrative taxonomy.
 
Work among the researchers is continuing in an attempt to collect DNA
information on the remaining 47 North American bird species, as well as
several more species that are considered extinct. The goal is to finish an
all-bird DNA inventory by 2011.
 
Curiously, next month will mark the 300th anniversary of the birth of
Linnaeus (i.e., Carl von Linne), the Swedish naturalist who established the
conventions for naming living organisms as well as the system of scientific
classification that, with a few modifications, is still in use today. How
appropriate that a 21st-century DNA bar-coding approach for birds is being
discussed at this very time!

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://secureserver.securesites.net/pipermail/birdtalk/attachments/20070404/ee41b752/attachment-0001.htm