CURRENT SITUATION OF GENETIC AND GENOMIC RESEARCH OF BIRDS OF PREY IN ASIA
Keywords:
birds of prey, genetics, genomics, Asia, literature reviewAbstract
Among avian species, birds of prey are often studied because of their ecological
significance. There has been an increase in genetic and genomic studies of wildlife to better understand
their evolution, taxonomy, and to inform conservation strategies, especially for endangered species.
Here, a comprehensive review of published studies on such genetic and genomic research of birds
of prey was conducted, with a focus on Asian populations/species. Investigation of temporal trends
and methods employed revealed an increase in the number of studies and advances in sequencing
technology applied. However, there were considerably fewer studies using nuclear DNA and whole
genomes in Asia. Implications for future developments in academic research and conservation are
also summarized, based on these results.
References
Clements, J.F. Clements checklist of birds of the world, 6th ed. (Comstock Pub. Associates/
Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 2007).
Ferguson-Lees, J. & Christie, D.A. Raptors of the world. (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston,
.
Frankham, R. Genetics and extinction. Biological Conservation 126(2), 131-140 (2005).
Frankham, R., Ballou, J. & Briscoe, D. Introduction to conservation genetics, 2nd ed. (Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge, 2010).
Gousy-Leblanc, M., Yannic, G., Therrien, J.F. & Lecomte, N. Mapping our knowledge on birds of
prey population genetics. Conservation Genetics 22, 685-702 (2021).
Haring, E., Kvaløy, K., Gjershaug, J.O., Røv, N. & Gamauf, A. Convergent evolution and paraphyly
of the hawkeagles of the genus Spizaetus (Aves, Accipitridae) - phylogenetic analyses based on
mitochondrial markers. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research 45(4), 353-365
(2007).
Hirai, M. & Yamazaki, T. Isolation and characterization of eleven microsatellite loci in an
endangered species, Mountain Hawk-Eagle (Spizaetus nipalensis). Conservation Genetics Resources
, 113-115 (2010).
Miranda Jr H.C., Brooks D.M. & Kennedy R.S. Phylogeny and taxonomic review of Philippine
lowland scops owls (Strigiformes): parallel diversification of highland and lowland clades. The Wilson
Journal of Ornithology 123(3), 441-53 (2011).
Naito-Liederbach, A.M., Sato, Y., Nakajima, N., Maeda, T., Inoue, T., Yamazaki, T., Ogden, R.
& Inoue-Murayama, M. Genetic diversity of the endangered Japanese golden eagle at neutral and
functional loci. Ecological Research 36(5), 815-829 (2021).
Rudnick, J.A., Katzner, T.E., Bragin, E.A., Rhodes Jr, O.E. & DeWoody, J.A. Using naturally shed
feathers for individual identification, genetic parentage analyses, and population monitoring in an
endangered Eastern imperial eagle (Aquila heliaca) population from Kazakhstan. Molecular Ecology,
(10), 2959-2967 (2005).
Sato, Y., Ogden, R., Kishida, T., Nakajima, N., Maeda, T. & Inoue-Murayama, M. Population history
of the golden eagle inferred from whole-genome sequencing of three of its subspecies. Biological
Journal of the Linnean Society 130(4), 826-838 (2020).
Sawada, A., Ando, H. & Takagi, M. Evaluating the existence and benefit of major histocompatibility
complexbased mate choice in an isolated owl population. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 33(6), 762-
(2020).
Wang, H.W., Zhang, H.F., Ren, L., Xu, Y., Zeng, Y.J., Miao, Y.L., Luo, H.Y. & Wang, K.H. The whole
mitochondrial genome of the Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni). Mitochondrial DNA Part A 27(4), 2385-
(2016).
Wilder, A.P., Supple, M.A., Subramanian, A., Mudide, A., Swofford, R., Serres-Armero, A., Steiner,
C., Koepfli, K.P., Genereux, D.P., Karlsson, E.K. & Lindblad-Toh, K. The contribution of historical processes
to contemporary extinction risk in placental mammals. Science 380(6643), (2023).
Yang, L.X., Zhou, B., Huang, X., Gao, K., Chen, Z.R., Dai, C., Zhang, S., Zhou, L., Li, Z.S., Shang, Y.G.
& Xi, C. A Survey of Sex Ratios of Raptors at a Rescue Center in China. Journal of Raptor Research 56(2),
-244 (2022).
