Multilocus approach reveals an incipient differentiation process in the Stone-curlew, Burhinus oedicnemus around the Mediterranean basin

The Stone-curlew Burhinus oedicnemus, asteppe bird species, is mainly distributed in the Mediterraneanand Macaronesian regions, which are consideredhotspots of biodiversity with priority for animal and plantspecies richness conservation. In this study, we investigatedthe genetic diversity of the Stone-curlew in theMediterranean basin and in the Canary Islands by applyinga multilocus approach. We analysed mitochondrial andnuclear markers in order to evaluate the genetic structureand the congruence between morphological subspecies andgeographic samples. We found a significant level of geneticdifferentiation between Mediterranean and Canary Islandpopulations with all markers. Both in the Mediterraneanbasin and in the Canary Islands, we found a significantlevel of genetic diversity with nuclear markers only. Weidentified seven population groups, including insular populations.The four subspecies described for the WesternPalaearctic were confirmed with some changes indistribution range. In spite of habitat fragmentation andnegative population trend, the Stone-curlew showed asignificant level of genetic diversity and gene flow amongcontinental populations. However, islands constituteimportant reservoirs of genetic diversity and a potential forthe evolution of the species.