Population differentiation in the white-fronted chat (Epthianura albifrons) at a continental scale: implications for dispersal, biogeography and conservation

Richard E. Major; Georgina M. Schlub; Rebecca N. Johnson; Andrew G. King; Gretel S. Major

doi:10.1071/ZO24037

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Previous Contents Vol 73(2)

Population differentiation in the white-fronted chat (Epthianura albifrons) at a continental scale: implications for dispersal, biogeography and conservation

Richard E. Major

^A , Georgina M. Schlub ^A ^B , Rebecca N. Johnson

^A ^C , Andrew G. King ^A and Gretel S. Major

^D ^*

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Australian Museum Research Institute, Australian Museum, 1 William Street, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia.

^B Graduate School of Health, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Broadway, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia.

^C National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA.

^D School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, 20 Kirkwood Avenue, Christchurch 8041, New Zealand.

^* Correspondence to: gretel.major@canterbury.ac.nz

Handling Editor: Steven Cooper

Australian Journal of Zoology 73, ZO24037 https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO24037

Submitted: 28 November 2024 Accepted: 14 February 2025 Published: 7 March 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

The capacity for dispersal is an important determinant of a species’ resilience to decline from the serial extinction of local populations. Dispersal of animals can be difficult to measure directly but population genetics provides a powerful tool for identifying dispersal limits. This study used microsatellite markers to investigate population structuring of the white-fronted chat (Epthianura albifrons) across its geographic range. Because the species is threatened in the north-eastern part of its range, the primary aim was to identify barriers limiting dispersal. Isolation by distance was not apparent across the 3000 km mainland range but populations on three oceanic islands, and two mainland sites surrounded by urbanisation, were genetically distinct from each other and the other mainland sites. The small populations that were surrounded by urbanised land had significantly lower genetic diversity (allelic diversity and heterozygosity) than the other mainland populations, with the oceanic island populations showing intermediate levels of diversity. These results suggest that although being a partially nomadic species, which facilitates its dispersal over continuous habitat, the species does not have the flight capacity of some other small passerines and is sensitive to habitat discontinuity. Populations inhabiting small areas of coastal saltmarsh in areas with large human populations are likely to face increasing threat levels.

Keywords: barrier, biogeography, conservation, dispersal, DNA, endangered species, Epthianura albifrons, fragmentation, microsatellite, population genetics.

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