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Otididae (1 Viewer)

Little Brown Bustard

Horreo, Alonso & Milá 2014. DNA sequences from the Little Brown Bustard Eupodotis humilis suggest its close phylogenetic relationship to the Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax. Ostrich 85(1): 1–5. [preview]
 
They write:
Attempts at sequencing the cyt-b gene fragment in Eupodotis vigorsii using a sample from the National History Museum of London (specimen BMNH 1950.50.48) yielded only a 222 bp fragment due to the degraded state of the DNA. This short fragment has been deposited in GenBank (accession no. KC706447), and preliminary results show that this species groups with E. humilis and T. tetrax (data not shown). Pending analysis of a larger molecular data set, the proposal by Pitra et al. (2002) regarding the potential close relationship between E. humilis, E. vigorsii and E. rueppellii is thus partly supported by our cyt-b data set which, unexpectedly, also supports the inclusion of T. tetrax.
The fragment they obtained from vigorsii is fully identical to the homologous sequence of T. tetrax; it differs from the homologous sequence of E. humilis by one single substitution; it differs from the homologous sequence of E. rueppellii by 19 substitutions. (See attached tree; note I used sequences of rather variable length to build it, though.) Thus the group would include T. tetrax, but exclude E. rueppellii... which in fact is hardly supportive of what Pitra et al. "proposed". (Pitra et al. obtained a highly uncertain placement of E. rueppellii in their trees, and suggested that this was possibly a consequence of them having not included data from humilis and vigorsii, which they assumed to be the closest relatives of rueppellii. Here, Horreo et al.'s data suggest that these two species are both extremely close to T. tetrax, and in no way particularly related to E. rueppellii; including them in the analysis doesn't seem to help clarify the placement of E. rueppellii at all.)

If correct, this would be quite amazing...
 

Attachments

  • Bustards-Gruiformes.cytb.pdf
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Great Bustard in Morocco (breeding)

The only extant, and genetically differentiated, population of Great Bustard in Africa is in trouble.

Alonso, J.C., Palacín, C., Onrubia, A., Aboulouafae, R., Amezian, M., El Idrissi Essougrati, A., El Khamlichi, R. & Noaman, M. (in press). Alarming decline and range reduction of the highly threatened Great Bustard Otis tarda in Morocco. Ostrich DOI: 10.2989/00306525.2016.1209591 (Free access)
 
Chlamydotis macqueenii in Iran

Haghani, Aliabadian, Sarhangzadeh, Setoodeh. 2018. Evaluation of genetic diversity and population structure of Macqueen’s Bustard Chlamydotis macqueenii in Iran. Bird Study.
[abstract & supp.]
 
Great Bustard

Aimee Elizabeth Kessler, Malia A Santos, Ramona Flatz, Nyambayar Batbayar, Tseveenmyadag Natsagdorj, Dashnyam Batsuuri, Fyodor G Bidashko, Natsag Galbadrakh, Oleg Goroshko, Valery V Khrokov, Tuvshin Unenbat, Ivan I Vagner, Muyang Wang, Christopher Irwin Smith; Mitochondrial Divergence between Western and Eastern Great Bustards: Implications for Conservation and Species Status, Journal of Heredity, , esy025, https://doi.org/10.1093/jhered/esy025

Abstract:

The great bustard is the heaviest bird capable of flight and an iconic species of the Eurasian steppe. Populations of both currently recognized subspecies are highly fragmented and critically small in Asia. We used DNA sequence data from the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and the mitochondrial control region to estimate the degree of mitochondrial differentiation and rates of female gene flow between the subspecies. We obtained genetic samples from 51 individuals of Otis tarda dybowskii representing multiple populations, including the first samples from Kazakhstan and Mongolia and samples from near the Altai Mountains, the proposed geographic divide between the subspecies, allowing for better characterization of the boundary between the 2 subspecies. We compared these with existing sequence data (n = 66) from Otis tarda tarda. Our results suggest, though do not conclusively prove, that O. t. dybowskii and O. t. tarda may be distinct species. The geographic distribution of haplotypes, phylogenetic analysis, analyses of molecular variance, and coalescent estimation of divergence time and female migration rates indicate that O. t. tarda and O. t. dybowskii are highly differentiated in the mitochondrial genome, have been isolated for approximately 1.4 million years, and exchange much less than 1 female migrant per generation. Our findings indicate that the 2 forms should at least be recognized and managed as separate evolutionary units. Populations in Xinjiang, China and Khövsgöl and Bulgan, Mongolia exhibited the highest levels of genetic diversity and should be prioritized in conservation planning.

[pdf]
 

The generic position of the Nubian Bustard Neotis nuba (Cretzschmar, 1826) (Aves: Otididae)
NIGEL J. COLLAR & GUY M. KIRWAN

The bustard genera Neotis and Ardeotis are generally considered to comprise four species each, but a 2002 molecular phylogeny found N. heuglinii interposed between two pairs of Ardeotis, with N. nuba basal to all seven others. In the absence of a new molecular study one approach to clarifying relationships in the Otididae is to examine the degree of difference in their self-advertisement displays (as performed solitarily, i.e., with no nearby conspecifics). In this regard N. nuba emerges as unique for possessing a strutting parade with its tail raised in a vertical fork, in complete contrast to the neck-inflation displays of other Neotis (which involve no use of the tail) and of all Ardeotis. The tail-fork in N. nuba, unknown in any other bustard, results from the outer rectrices being longer, stiffer and more pointed than the central ones. The species is also unique among bustards in its long broad sandy-rufous crown-stripe; and unlike all other Neotis the sexes are virtually alike in plumage. We consequently propose a new genus Nubotis for N. nuba. Furthermore, we suggest that confirmation of all components of the displays of N. heuglinii, N. denhami and N. ludwigii might precipitate a new genus for N. heuglinii. Fuller review of the distinctions between the Afrotropical A. arabs and A. kori on the one side and the non-Afrotropical A. nigriceps and A. australis on the other might also lead to the reinstatement of Austrotis for the latter two.

Nubotis new genus. Honestly it's a joke.
 

The generic position of the Nubian Bustard Neotis nuba (Cretzschmar, 1826) (Aves: Otididae)
NIGEL J. COLLAR & GUY M. KIRWAN

The bustard genera Neotis and Ardeotis are generally considered to comprise four species each, but a 2002 molecular phylogeny found N. heuglinii interposed between two pairs of Ardeotis, with N. nuba basal to all seven others. In the absence of a new molecular study one approach to clarifying relationships in the Otididae is to examine the degree of difference in their self-advertisement displays (as performed solitarily, i.e., with no nearby conspecifics). In this regard N. nuba emerges as unique for possessing a strutting parade with its tail raised in a vertical fork, in complete contrast to the neck-inflation displays of other Neotis (which involve no use of the tail) and of all Ardeotis. The tail-fork in N. nuba, unknown in any other bustard, results from the outer rectrices being longer, stiffer and more pointed than the central ones. The species is also unique among bustards in its long broad sandy-rufous crown-stripe; and unlike all other Neotis the sexes are virtually alike in plumage. We consequently propose a new genus Nubotis for N. nuba. Furthermore, we suggest that confirmation of all components of the displays of N. heuglinii, N. denhami and N. ludwigii might precipitate a new genus for N. heuglinii. Fuller review of the distinctions between the Afrotropical A. arabs and A. kori on the one side and the non-Afrotropical A. nigriceps and A. australis on the other might also lead to the reinstatement of Austrotis for the latter two.

Nubotis new genus. Honestly it's a joke.
If anyone has the paper
 
Last edited:
Luo, H., X. Jiang, B. Li, J. Wu, J. Shen, Z. Xu, X. Zhou, M. Hou, Z. Huang, X. Ou, and L. Xu (2023)
A high-quality genome assembly highlights the evolutionary history of the great bustard (Otis tarda, Otidiformes)
Communications Biology 6: 746
doi: 10.1038/s42003-023-05137-x

Conservation genomics often relies on non-invasive methods to obtain DNA fragments which limit the power of multi-omic analyses for threatened species. Here, we report multi-omic analyses based on a well-preserved great bustard individual (Otis tarda, Otidiformes) that was found dead in the mountainous region in Gansu, China. We generate a near-complete genome assembly containing only 18 gaps scattering in 8 out of the 40 assembled chromosomes. We characterize the DNA methylation landscape which is correlated with GC content and gene expression. Our phylogenomic analysis suggests Otidiformes and Musophagiformes are sister groups that diverged from each other 46.3 million years ago. The genetic diversity of great bustard is found the lowest among the four available Otidiformes genomes, possibly due to population declines during past glacial periods. As one of the heaviest migratory birds, great bustard possesses several expanded gene families related to cardiac contraction, actin contraction, calcium ion signaling transduction, as well as positively selected genes enriched for metabolism. Finally, we identify an extremely young evolutionary stratum on the sex chromosome, a rare case among birds. Together, our study provides insights into the conservation genomics, adaption and chromosome evolution of the great bustard.
 

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