Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
203,203 studies31 sourcesUpdated 45 min ago
Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Ecology and Evolution

Local Adaptation With Gene Flow Has a Polygenic Basis in a Threatened Coastal Songbird

  • Jonathan D. Clark1,2
  • Haw Chuan Lim3,4
  • Brian J. Olsen5
  • Adrienne I. Kovach1
5 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Natural Resources and the Environment University of New Hampshire Durham New Hampshire USA
  2. 2Fuller Evolutionary Biology Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology Cornell University Ithaca New York USA
  3. 3Department of Biology George Mason University Fairfax Virginia USA
  4. 4Center for Conservation Genomics National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute Washington DC USA
  5. 5School of Biology and Ecology The University of Maine Orono Maine USA
Read full textPDFDOICite

Abstract

Species that span heterogenous environments often exhibit local adaptation despite gene flow among populations. In such cases, the maintenance of local adaptation is controlled by several factors, including the strength of selection, migration, assortative mating, and genomic architecture. The song sparrow ( Melospiza melodia ) is a widespread songbird with diverse subspecies, including the coastally adapted Atlantic song sparrow ( M. m. atlantica ). Despite extensive gene flow with a generalist subspecies, Atlantic song sparrow populations have been found to maintain their coastally adaptive phenotypes. We produced a new chromosome‐level reference assembly for the species and whole‐genome data to explore the genomic architecture of divergence with gene flow and the genetic basis of adaptation in this subspecies. Adaptation in the Atlantic song sparrow has a polygenic basis, with loci under divergent selection scattered throughout the genome rather than concentrated in low‐recombination linkage blocks. Signatures of fine‐scale population structure, limited genomic differentiation, and divergent selection on a small set of genes suggest a role for natural selection in maintaining this subspecies boundary. Our findings highlight the complex interplay among selection, gene flow, and recombination in shaping adaptation with gene flow and provide insights into the genomic architecture of ecological divergence within a widespread, morphologically diverse species.

Related

  1. Genomic Consequences of Altered Flood Regimes: Gene Flow and Adaptation in a Threatened Floodplain Plant
    W.-H. Kuo, E. Aguirre-Mazzi, B. Bassuner +11
    bioRxivPreprintCC BYFull textEvolutionary biologybioRxiv
  2. Fine-tuning of polygenic score to local data improves risk prediction and clinical implementation
    Min Seo Kim, Yang Sui, Aniruddh P. Patel +11
    Nature CommunicationsPeer-reviewedCC BY-NC-ND 4.0Full textGenetics & genomicsCrossref
  3. Standing genetic variation drives polygenic adaptation to different environmental shifts
    Y. Zhang, M. G. Stetter
    bioRxivPreprintCC BY-NCFull textEvolutionary biologybioRxiv
  4. Local hydrology and seasonality outweigh the influence of Phragmites australis on coastal bacterial communities across two Baltic Sea bays
    Fabio Ercoli, Helen Tammert, Veljo Kisand +3
    Environmental MicrobiomePeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textEcologyPMC
  5. Insight Into the Genetic Architecture of Local (Mal)Adaptation in Wild and Feral Brassica rapa Populations
    S. Geneste, M. Gautier, S. Boitard +6
    Molecular ecologyPeer-reviewedCC BY-NCFull textGenetics & genomicsEurope PMC

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{clark2026local,
  title = {{Local Adaptation With Gene Flow Has a Polygenic Basis in a Threatened Coastal Songbird}},
  author = {Jonathan D. Clark and Haw Chuan Lim and Brian J. Olsen and Adrienne I. Kovach},
  journal = {Ecology and Evolution},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1002/ece3.74506},
  url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.74506},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Local Adaptation With Gene Flow Has a Polygenic Basis in a Threatened Coastal Songbird
AU  - Jonathan D. Clark
AU  - Haw Chuan Lim
AU  - Brian J. Olsen
AU  - Adrienne I. Kovach
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/18
JO  - Ecology and Evolution
DO  - 10.1002/ece3.74506
UR  - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.74506
AB  - Species that span heterogenous environments often exhibit local adaptation despite gene flow among populations. In such cases, the maintenance of local adaptation is controlled by several factors, including the strength of selection, migration, assortative mating, and genomic architecture. The song sparrow ( Melospiza melodia ) is a widespread songbird with diverse subspecies, including the coastally adapted Atlantic song sparrow ( M. m. atlantica ). Despite extensive gene flow with a generalist subspecies, Atlantic song sparrow populations have been found to maintain their coastally adaptive phenotypes. We produced a new chromosome‐level reference assembly for the species and whole‐genome data to explore the genomic architecture of divergence with gene flow and the genetic basis of adaptation in this subspecies. Adaptation in the Atlantic song sparrow has a polygenic basis, with loci under divergent selection scattered throughout the genome rather than concentrated in low‐recombination linkage blocks. Signatures of fine‐scale population structure, limited genomic differentiation, and divergent selection on a small set of genes suggest a role for natural selection in maintaining this subspecies boundary. Our findings highlight the complex interplay among selection, gene flow, and recombination in shaping adaptation with gene flow and provide insights into the genomic architecture of ecological divergence within a widespread, morphologically diverse species.
SN  - 2045-7758
SN  - 2045-7758
ER  -