RESEARCH ARTICLE Limited Dispersal and Significant Fine - Scale Genetic Structure in a Tropical Montane Parrot Species Nadine Klauke1*, H. Martin Schaefer1, Michael Bauer1, Gernot Segelbacher2 1 Animal Ecology and Evolution, Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany, 2 Wildlife Ecology and Management, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany a1111111111 *
[email protected] a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 Abstract Tropical montane ecosystems are biodiversity hotspots harbouring many endemics that are confined to specific habitat types within narrow altitudinal ranges. While deforestation put these ecosystems under threat, we still lack knowledge about how heterogeneous environ- OPEN ACCESS ments like the montane tropics promote population connectivity and persistence. We investi- Citation: Klauke N, Schaefer HM, Bauer M, gated the fine-scale genetic structure of the two largest subpopulations of the endangered Segelbacher G (2016) Limited Dispersal and El Oro parakeet (Pyrrhura orcesi) endemic to the Ecuadorian Andes. Specifically, we Significant Fine - Scale Genetic Structure in a assessed the genetic divergence between three sites separated by small geographic dis- Tropical Montane Parrot Species. PLoS ONE 11 (12): e0169165. doi:10.1371/journal. tances but characterized by a heterogeneous habitat structure. Although geographical dis- pone.0169165 tances between sites are small (3±17 km), we found genetic differentiation between all Editor: Don A. Driscoll, Deakin University, sites. Even though dispersal capacity is generally high in parrots, our findings indicate that Australia, AUSTRALIA dispersal is limited even on this small geographic scale. Individual genotype assignment Received: March 25, 2015 revealed similar genetic divergence across a valley (~ 3 km distance) compared to a contin- uous mountain range (~ 13 km distance).