Genetic diversity and population structure of two endangered neotropical parrots inform In Situ and Ex Situ conservation strategies

In the blue-throated macaw, we found evidence of weak genetic differentiation between wild northern and southern subpopulations, and between wild and captive populations. In the thick-billed parrot we found no signal of differentiation between the Madera and Tutuaca breeding colonies or between wild and captive populations. Similar levels of genetic diversity were detected in the wild and captive populations of both species, with private alleles detected in captivity in both, and in the wild in the thick-billed parrot.

We found genetic signatures of a bottleneck in the northern blue-throated macaw subpopulation, but no such signal was identified in any other subpopulation of either species. Our results suggest both species could potentially benefit from reintroduction of genetic variation found in captivity, and emphasize the need for genetic management of captive populations.

Methods

Genotypes at 12 loci were obtained for the blue-throated macaw; alleles were scored in Geneious R8.1.7. Genotypes for 11 loci of the thick-billed parrot were scored using GeneMapper V3.5

Usage notes

Data stored as seperate Genepop formatted text files for each species.