Effect of spatial and temporal urban isolation on the genetic diversity,
acoustic variation, and morphological characteristics of an urban
survivor bird species
Abstract
Urbanization alters ecosystems, fragmenting natural habitats, and hence,
increasing isolation between populations. Therefore, a reduction in gene
flow among isolated populations is expected with greater distance and
time since fragmentation. Changes in the structure, density, or
community composition in the remaining habitats often result in species‘
modifications of vocalizations and morphological traits. However, the
relationship between genetic, vocalizations and morphological divergence
in urban areas over time remains poorly understood. We analyzed ten
years of genetic, acoustic, and morphological data from isolated
populations of the white-eared ground-sparrow. We used seven
microsatellites (SSRs), recorded, and measured five acoustic traits, and
measured six morphological traits, and compared them over a period of
ten years. We found an increase in inbreeding, increase in song
duration, number of elements, and frequency of maximum amplitude, but a
reduction in female body size and changes in male beak. However, we only
identified a significant correlation between genetic diversity and the
acoustic characteristics of song.