Gene Pool Homogeneity of Western and Eastern Populations of the White-Naped Crane Antigone Vipio in Different Flyways

The article presents the first data on the genetic structure of the White-naped crane Antigone vipio , a rare migratory bird species of Northeast Asia. Based on the analysis of seven polymorphic microsatellite loci and full-lengh mitochondrial DNA Control Region sequencing (1132 bp), the genetic homogeneity of spatially separated western and eastern populations was established. The found high levels of observed ( H O = 0.696 ± 0.033) and expected ( H E = 0.707 ± 0.037) heterozygosity and haplotype diversity ( Hd = 0.973) of the White-naped crane were comparable to these parameters in wide-range crane species with a large population sizes. Lack of genetic differentiation by microsatellite loci ( F ST = 0.013, P = 0.369), the low level of genetic differences by the Control Region ( F ST = 0.041, P = 0.05), and generally low level of intraspecific spatial structuring in the White-naped crane by haplotypes and individual multilocus genotypes may be due to the absence of reproductive isolation between individuals from different populations and changes in the migration routes of immature birds.