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POPULATION GENOMICS OF THE GALAPAGOS ISLAND MOCKINGBIRDS AND IMPLICATION FOR CONSERVATION

dc.contributor.advisorAndres, Jose A
dc.contributor.advisorChilton, Neil
dc.contributor.committeeMemberMorrissey, Christy
dc.contributor.committeeMemberPosso-Terranova, Andres
dc.contributor.committeeMemberMaroja, Luana
dc.contributor.committeeMemberSoos, Catherine
dc.contributor.committeeMemberLane, Jeffrey
dc.contributor.committeeMemberTorres-Carvajal, Omar
dc.creatorEspinoza-Ulloa, Sebastian A
dc.creator.orcid0000-0003-1497-356X
dc.date.accessioned2023-11-13T20:30:09Z
dc.date.available2023-11-13T20:30:09Z
dc.date.copyright2023
dc.date.created2023-05
dc.date.issued2023-05-18
dc.date.submittedMay 2023
dc.date.updated2023-11-13T20:30:09Z
dc.description.abstractIslands are considered as natural laboratories for the understanding of the evolutionary process of speciation. The very first muses of Darwin’s insights into evolution by natural selection were the Galapagos mockingbirds (Mimus spp.), a monophyletic group of four endemic species. Three species are restricted to a single island each whereas the fourth species occurs on (almost) all the other islands of the archipelago. These birds, known for their limited long-distance flying capabilities, are considered terrestrial species and serve as a clear example of allopatric evolution occurring on islands. The aim of my PhD research has been to unveil the evolutionary history of the Galapagos mockingbird species and its conservation implications using a whole-genome approach. Therefore, my research focused on generating a de novo reference genome within this monophyletic group in order to establish an adequate framework for subsequent genome-wide analyses (Chapter 2), and with it unveil the natural history of contrasting Galapagos mockingbird populations along the archipelago (Chapter 3). My findings have revealed that after the common ancestor of these species diverged, there was a systematic and directional spread of these species to the islands, which is directly related to the age of the islands. The geological history of the islands and anthropogenic factors have had different impacts on the demography and genetic variability of these species. Typically, smaller populations are more inbred and have higher rates of non-synonymous mutations becoming fixed. However, despite their extremely small sizes, the populations on Darwin, Wolf, and Floreana islands have maintained stable population sizes over many generations, indicating that the accumulation of these mutations has not had any impact on the fitness of these populations.
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10388/15231
dc.language.isoen
dc.subjectGenomics
dc.subjectGalapagos Islands
dc.subjectMockingbirds
dc.subjectEcology
dc.subjectEvolution
dc.subjectConservation
dc.subjectIsland Biogeography
dc.subjectPopulation Genomics
dc.subjectMimus
dc.titlePOPULATION GENOMICS OF THE GALAPAGOS ISLAND MOCKINGBIRDS AND IMPLICATION FOR CONSERVATION
dc.typeThesis
dc.type.materialtext
thesis.degree.departmentBiology
thesis.degree.disciplineBiology
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Saskatchewan
thesis.degree.levelDoctoral
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

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