Phylogeographic analysis of Pionus maximiliani (Kuhl, 1820) species complex: testing the genetic continuity between populations of the open habitat corridor and the Atlantic Forest.

• Grant number: 16/17879-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: February 12, 2017
• End date: March 22, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Taxonomy of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Luís Fábio Silveira
• Grantee: Cristiane Silva Apolinario dos Santos
• Supervisor: Robb Thomas Brumfield
• Host Institution: Museu de Zoologia (MZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Louisiana State University (LSU), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 15/19533-4 - Taxonomy and phylogeography of Pionus maximiliani complex (Aves: Psittacidae), BP.MS

Abstract

Pionus maximiliani is a widely distributed parrot species, ranging from Northeastern Brazil to Northern Argentina and comprising four subspecies currently accepted: Pionus maximiliani maximiliani, P. m. siy, P. m. melanoblepharus and P. m. lacerus. According to the literature, the nominate form occurs in Caatinga, siy and lacerus inhabits Chaco area while melanoblepharus is found in Atlantic Forest and Cerrado. Preliminary data suggests that P. maximiliani seems to be restricted to gallery and riverine forests along the open vegetation biomes where occurs. Its wide distributional range and its occurrence both in forested biomes and in open areas provide interesting opportunities for a phylogeographic study, aiming to test the independence of lineages from Atlantic Forest and lineages associated with forested patches along the arid corridor. To achieve this goal, we are using multilocus approach and some analysis to be done are Bayesian and Maximum-Likelihood phylogenies, network haplotypes, inference of time divergence among lineages and tests to assess genetic differentiation.