Development of the management unit for an invasive alien species, the Red-billed Leiothrix based on genetic information

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26340096
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Environmental and ecological symbiosis
• Research Institution: Lake Biwa Museum
• Principal Investigator: AMANO Hitoha (桝永一葉) 滋賀県立琵琶湖博物館, その他部局等, 特別研究員 (50526316)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 外来種 / 特定外来生物 / 外来鳥類 / マイクロサテライト / 遺伝的多様性 / 遺伝的分化 / 管理ユニット

Outline of Final Research Achievements

To effectively manage an invasive alien species, the red-billed Leiothrix, in Japan, we investigated the genetic structure at 5 microsatellite loci in 12 populations (N= 409 individuals). All populations showed relatively high heterozygosity. The numbers of alleles were larger in western populations, except Shikoku, and smaller in Aichi, Kochi and Tsukuba populations. The Aichi and Kochi populations differentiated greater from other populations. The analysis using the program STRUCTURE implied that the birds were divided into nine clusters and each of Kochi and Aichi populations was mainly consisted of individuals belonging to a specific cluster. The present preliminary study suggests that Kochi and Aichi populations have higher priority for elimination because they showed less gene flows among other populations.

Free Research Field

生態学　保全生態学