Isolation and characterisation of polymorphic microsatellite loci for Noisy Miners Manorina melanocephala , with success
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TECHNICAL NOTE
Isolation and characterisation of polymorphic microsatellite loci for Noisy Miners Manorina melanocephala, with successful cross-amplification in Bell Miners M. melanophrys Anna M. Kopps • Paul McDonald • Lee Ann Rollins
Received: 10 July 2012 / Accepted: 17 July 2012 / Published online: 31 July 2012 Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012
Abstract We characterized 15 polymorphic microsatellite loci identified from a Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala) blood sample using 454 whole genome shotgun sequencing. Levels of polymorphism were assessed using 15 Noisy Miners. The average number of alleles per locus was 5.1. These loci were then cross-amplified to assess their suitability in a single population of Bell Miners (M. melanophrys). Given the landscape level impact that these species are having on the health of vegetation and biodiversity of a range of vertebrates throughout much of south-eastern Australia, these primers will help identify colony dispersal patterns and thus aid in modeling predictions of miner presence and tenure length in threatened ecosystems. Keywords Meliphagidae Honeyeaters Microsatellite Population ecology Dispersal Bell Miner associated dieback
Noisy (M. melanocephala) and Bell Miners (M. melanophrys) have one of the most complex social systems of any avian society, forming permanent, highly social colonies composed of hundreds of individuals that cooperate to raise offspring, find food and repel predators (Arnold 2000; McDonald et al. 2008). Perhaps one of the most striking characteristics of both species is the highly aggressive behaviour that almost completely excludes other avian taxa from miner colonies. This has two distinct implications. First, this exclusion behaviour renders large areas of forest unavailable to other woodland birds, a group that has experienced rapid, recent declines in A. M. Kopps P. McDonald (&) L. A. Rollins University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia e-mail: [email protected]
abundance across south-eastern Australia (Barrett et al. 2003). Second, high numbers of parasitic, sap-sucking invertebrates are frequently found in vegetation defended by miners, particularly Bell Miners (Haythorpe and McDonald 2010). This correlation has lead to the acronym BMAD (Bell Miner Associated Dieback) being coined. Current estimates suggest that BMAD will impact over 2.5 million hectares of forest in New South Wales, Australia, alone (Wardell-Johnson et al. 2006). Given both species are common (IUCN listed as Least Concern) and increasing in abundance (Barrett et al. 2003), ways to reduce the ecological impact of both species on avian diversity and vegetative health are urgently required. Management strategies are unfortunately hampered by a lack of understanding of colony level dispersal dynamics. Both species may be resident in a location for several years, then shift hundreds of metres to a new location overnight, with colonies perhaps splitting and subsequently re-forming in the process (Higgins et al. 2001). This inability
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