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Speciation In The Highlands Of Mexico: Genetic And Phenotypic Divergence In The Mexican Jay (Aphelocoma Ultramarina), John Mccormack, A. Peterson, E. Bonaccorso, Thomas Smith
Speciation In The Highlands Of Mexico: Genetic And Phenotypic Divergence In The Mexican Jay (Aphelocoma Ultramarina), John Mccormack, A. Peterson, E. Bonaccorso, Thomas Smith
John E. McCormack
The pine-oak woodlands of the Mexican highlands harbour significant biological diversity, yet little is known about the evolutionary history of organisms inhabiting this region. We assessed genetic and phenotypic differentiation in 482 individuals representing 27 populations of the Mexican jay (Aphelocoma ultramarina) — a widespread bird species of the Mexican highlands — to test whether populations in the central and northern Mexican sierras display discrete breaks between groups, which would be consistent with a role for the different mountain chains in divergence and speciation. We found abrupt breaks in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA; ND2 and control region) delineating four major genetic …