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1 April 2009 Morphological and Genetic Patterns of Hybridization of Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus) and Glaucous Gulls (L. hyperboreus) in Iceland
Snæjörn Pálsson, Freydís Vigfúsdóttir, Agnar Ingólfsson
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Abstract

Recent hybridization has been reported between the Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) and Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus; the larger of the species) in Iceland, after the arrival of Herring Gulls around 1925. We used samples of both species from various locations in Iceland and from three periods spanning >40 years. To analyze the nature of hybridization and the extent of introgression between the species, we compared morphological variation using genetic information based on microsatellite and mtDNA data. Both comparisons of single traits and multivariate analysis pointed to hybridization and introgression. Variation in genetic markers and morphological traits revealed two distinct groups, connected by a number of intermediates. A discrepancy in classification based on genetic or morphological information revealed introgression. Variation within each species reflected the effect of hybridization; for example, individuals with less pigmentation (i.e., more hyperboreus-like) tend to be larger. The differences we observed among samples and periods reflect changes in the overlap of the populations' distributions.

© 2009 by The American Ornithologists' Union. All rights reserved. Please direct all requests for permission to photocopy or reproduce article content through the University of California Press's Rights and Permissions website, http://www.ucpressjournals.com/reprintInfo.asp.
Snæjörn Pálsson, Freydís Vigfúsdóttir, and Agnar Ingólfsson "Morphological and Genetic Patterns of Hybridization of Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus) and Glaucous Gulls (L. hyperboreus) in Iceland," The Auk 126(2), 376-382, (1 April 2009). https://doi.org/10.1525/auk.2009.08080
Received: 5 May 2008; Accepted: 1 December 2008; Published: 1 April 2009
KEYWORDS
Genetics
Glaucous Gull
Herring Gull
hybridization
Iceland
introgression
L. hyperboreus
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