Using ancient DNA to quantify losses of genetic and species diversity in seabirds: a case study of Pterodroma petrels from a Pacific island

摘要: The largest anthropogenic extinction events during the Holocene occurred on Pacific islands, where thousands of bird populations were lost. Although ancient DNA approaches have become widely used to monitor genetic variability species through time, few studies been conducted identify potential cryptic loss and diversity within seabird species. Here we heterochronous sampling mitochondrial (Cytochrome b) in genus Pterodroma from Norfolk Island quantify diversity. We particularly focused providence petrel P. solandri whose main breeding colony (~ 1,000,000 pairs) became extirpated following European settlement circa 1800. sampled subfossil bones consistent with spp. Island, performed comparisons other congeneric majority individuals exhibited most common haplotype Lord Howe solandri, suggesting no appreciable variation as a consequence extirpation. Our findings provide an example large population was rapidly by humans without species-level diversity, probably high connectivity populations. However, past insufficient prevent extirpation itself, which has conservation implications for predicting resilience threatened seabirds. In contrast, analyses smaller indicate second species, potentially pycrofti, brevipes or another closely related, possibly undescribed taxon, Tasman Sea.