Genomics detects population structure within and between ocean basins in a circumpolar seabird: The white-chinned petrel.

The Southern Ocean represents a continuous stretch of circumpolar marine habitat, but the potential physical and ecological drivers of evolutionary genetic differentiation across this vast ecosystem remain unclear. We tested for genetic structure across the full circumpolar range of the white-chinned petrel (Procellaria aequinoctialis) to unravel the potential drivers of population differentiation and test alternative population differentiation hypotheses. Following range-wide comprehensive sampling, we applied genomic (genotyping-by-sequencing or GBS; 60,709 loci) and standard mitochondrial-marker approaches (cytochrome b and first domain of control region) to quantify genetic diversity within and among island populations, test for isolation by distance, and quantify the number of genetic clusters using neutral and outlier (non-neutral) loci.

Comparative transcriptomic analysis of a wing-dimorphic stonefly reveals candidate wing loss genes.

Background: The genetic basis of wing development has been well characterised for model insect species, but remains poorly understood in phylogenetically divergent, non-model taxa. Wing-polymorphic insect species potentially provide ideal systems for unravelling the genetic basis of secondary wing reduction. Stoneflies (Plecoptera) represent an anciently derived insect assemblage for which the genetic basis of wing polymorphism remains unclear.

Ecological gradients drive insect wing loss and speciation: The role of the alpine treeline.

Alpine ecosystems are frequently characterized by an abundance of wing-reduced insect species, but the drivers of this biodiversity remain poorly understood. Insect wing reduction in these environments has variously been attributed to altitude, temperature, isolation, habitat stability or decreased habitat size. We used fine-scale ecotypic and genomic analyses, along with broad-scale distributional analyses of ecotypes, to unravel the ecological drivers of wing reduction in the wing-dimorphic stonefly Zelandoperla fenestrata complex.

Genotyping-by-sequencing supports a genetic basis for wing reduction in an alpine New Zealand stonefly.

Wing polymorphism is a prominent feature of numerous insect groups, but the genomic basis for this diversity remains poorly understood. Wing reduction is a commonly observed trait in many species of stoneflies, particularly in cold or alpine environments. The widespread New Zealand stonefly Zelandoperla fenestrata species group (Z.

The genomic ancestry, landscape genetics and invasion history of introduced mice in New Zealand.

The house mouse () provides a fascinating system for studying both the genomic basis of reproductive isolation, and the patterns of human-mediated dispersal. New Zealand has a complex history of mouse invasions, and the living descendants of these invaders have genetic ancestry from all three subspecies, although most are primarily descended from . We used the GigaMUGA genotyping array (approximately 135 000 loci) to describe the genomic ancestry of 161 mice, sampled from 34 locations from across New Zealand (and one Australian city-Sydney).

Genomic Changes Associated with Reproductive and Migratory Ecotypes in Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka).

Mechanisms underlying adaptive evolution can best be explored using paired populations displaying similar phenotypic divergence, illuminating the genomic changes associated with specific life history traits. Here, we used paired migratory [anadromous vs. resident (kokanee)] and reproductive [shore- vs.

An ancient selective sweep linked to reproductive life history evolution in sockeye salmon.

Study of parallel (or convergent) phenotypic evolution can provide important insights into processes driving sympatric, ecologically-mediated divergence and speciation, as ecotype pairs may provide a biological replicate of the underlying signals and mechanisms. Here, we provide evidence for a selective sweep creating an island of divergence associated with reproductive behavior in sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka), identifying a series of linked single nucleotide polymorphisms across a ~22,733 basepair region spanning the leucine-rich repeat-containing protein 9 gene exhibiting signatures of divergent selection associated with stream- and shore-spawning in both anadromous and resident forms across their pan-Pacific distribution. This divergence likely occurred ~3.

Sockeye salmon repatriation leads to population re-establishment and rapid introgression with native kokanee.

Re-establishing salmonid populations to areas historically occupied has the substantial potential for conservation gains; however, such interventions also risk negatively impacting native resident stocks. Here, we assessed the success of the hatchery-assisted reintroduction of anadromous sockeye salmon () into Skaha Lake, British Columbia, Canada, and evaluated the genetic consequences for native kokanee, a freshwater-obligate ecotype, using single nucleotide polymorphism genotypic data collected from the reference samples of spawning Okanagan River sockeye and Skaha Lake kokanee presockeye reintroduction, along with annual trawl survey and angler-caught samples obtained over an eight-year period. Significant differentiation was detected between sockeye and kokanee reference samples, with >99% stock assignment.

The complete mitochondrial genomes of two chiton species (Sypharochiton pelliserpentis and Sypharochiton sinclairi) obtained using Illumina next generation sequencing.

Using an Illumina platform, we shot-gun sequenced the complete mitochondrial genomes of two sister chiton species (Sypharochiton pelliserpentis and Sypharochiton sinclairi) to an average coverage of 172× and 60×, respectively. We performed a de novo assembly using SOAPdenovo2 and determined the total mitogenome lengths to be 15,048 and 15,028 bps, respectively. The gene organization was similar to that of other chitons, with 13 protein-coding genes, 24 transfer RNAs and 2 ribosomal RNAs.