Barcoding the Birds of the Palearctic Kevin C.R. Kerr University of Guelph Biodiversity Institute of Ontario Canada Collaborators: S. Birks, S. Rohwer, R. Faucett, M. Kalyakin, P.D.N. Hebert

Introduction

© S. Birks Sources for specimens Burke Museum, University of Washington Demonstrated well-preserved tissue collection in previous collaboration Houses voucher specimens for tissues Boasts an “unsurpassed modern collection from many localities throughout the former Soviet Union and Mongolia”

Specimen selection No formal list has been decided on yet for the Palearctic “A Field Guide to the Birds of Russia” was used as a guide to pick samples Species were reviewed in systematic order, searched for in the Burke’s online database (including specimens collected in Russia, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan)

DNA sources Feathers are not useful for initial sampling effort Museums are the ideal starting point Maintaining a 96–well format facilitates high throughput Receive tissues in “Matrix” boxes to help maintain organization

The Analytical Chain Specimen Sample Extract Amplify Sequence Photographs Collection data Online barcode library

Data management

Quickly outlines: Information on voucher specimen Taxonomic information Geographic locality Specimen images

Data management Quickly outlines: Information on voucher specimen Taxonomic information Geographic locality Specimen images

Data management

n = 6 n = 1 © A. Cutts Results Summary: 213 of 234 species 626 sequenced of 803 specimens 2.9 replicates per species Mean intraspecific distance = 0.52% (versus North American 0.23%) Mean congeneric distance = 8.83% (versus North American 5.9%)

Geographic range of samples collected to date Number of Replicates per Species Results

n = 6 n = 1 © A. Cutts Results Summary: 213 of 234 species 626 sequenced of 803 specimens 2.9 replicates per species Mean intraspecific distance = 0.52% (versus North American 0.29%) Mean congeneric distance = 8.83% (versus North American 5.9%)

Results: Taxon resolution Only 1 “lumped” pair of taxa has been found:

1 Anatidae 1 Scolopacidae 1 Columbidae 1 Caprimulgidae 2 Picidae 2 Hirundinidae 1 Troglodytidae 5 Turdidae 14 Species with splits Results: Species discovery

Old world “redstarts” Results: Species discovery Taxon identification tree illustrates the deep divergences exhibited in some species

Palearctic vs Nearctic

© S. Valjakka Palearctic vs Nearctic Comparisons to Nearctic conspecifics is variable NO Palearctic species LUMPS with a Nearctic species

Preliminary points 1. Patterns of divergence emulate those observed in the North American birds 2. The addition of Palearctic birds does not confuse the results from the original dataset

New contributions Zoological Museum of Moscow University (Mikhail Kalyakin): An additional 65 species (299 species in total) An additional 352 specimens (1,155 specimens in total)

Collaboration & Coordination Sweden Norway U.K. Denmark Holland France Portugal Italy IsraelIran Russia Japan China Taiwan

Collaboration & Coordination

Lessons from the Palearctic Working Group: 1.Open communication 2.Structure and organization 3.Action

Laboratory Database Collections Funding & Support The Hebert Lab BOLD The Moore Foundation Canadian Wildlife Service Burke Museum staff: Sharon Birks Sievert Rohwer Rob Faucett Chris Wood Acknowledgements Zoological Museum of Moscow University: Mikhail Kalyakin