Spatial genetic structure and connectivity in established colonies of red-tailed tropicbirds across a tropical longitudinal axis

Dominique A. Potvin; Caitlin Ivey; Rohan H. Clarke; Zerra Egerton; Kathy A. Townsend; David A. Stewart; Katharine Robertson; Christine L. Dudgeon

doi:10.1007/s10592-026-01771-0

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Spatial genetic structure and connectivity in established colonies of red-tailed tropicbirds across a tropical longitudinal axis

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Spatial genetic structure and connectivity in established colonies of red-tailed tropicbirds across a tropical longitudinal axis

Dominique A. Potvin, Caitlin Ivey, Rohan H. Clarke, Zerra Egerton, Kathy A. Townsend, David A. Stewart, Katharine Robertson and Christine L. Dudgeon

Conservation Genetics, Vol.27(2), pp.1-14

2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-026-01771-0

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Abstract

seabird

pelagic

colonical breeding

dispersal

heterozygosity

Like most seabirds, red-tailed tropicbirds (Phaethon rubricauda) spend most of their lives at sea, returning to islands only to breed. Despite their well-known capacity for long-distance movement, little is known about how new colonies are established or how genetic diversity is maintained across isolated, highly philopatric breeding populations. Here, we investigate patterns of genetic diversity using SNP genotyping across three breeding colonies forming a triangular spatial configuration between the Great Barrier Reef and Ashmore Reef in the eastern Indo-Pacific. We focus first on Lady Elliot Island, the most recently colonised site in the region, and compare it to Raine Island (the only other Great Barrier Reef colony), and Ashmore Reef off north-western Australia. Red-tailed tropicbirds were first recorded nesting on Lady Elliot Island in the 1980s, following revegetation efforts after historical guano mining. Raine Island lies approximately equidistant from Lady Elliot Island (1965 km south) and Ashmore Reef (2280 km west). Despite its smaller size, the Lady Elliot Island colony exhibited genetic diversity that was greater than the larger Raine Island colony and comparable to the larger Ashmore Reef colony. Weak genetic population structuring was observed between the three colonies, with Raine Island positioned between the other two in a pattern consistent with their geographic layout. These findings suggest well-established connectivity among colonies, with Lady Elliot and Ashmore Reef populations likely drawing from a broader genetic pool. Further sampling across the Indian and Pacific Oceans may reveal additional drivers of genetic structure.

Details

Title: Spatial genetic structure and connectivity in established colonies of red-tailed tropicbirds across a tropical longitudinal axis
Authors: Dominique A. Potvin (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast
Caitlin Ivey - University of the Sunshine Coast
Rohan H. Clarke - Monash University
Zerra Egerton - University of the Sunshine Coast
Kathy A. Townsend - University of the Sunshine Coast
David A. Stewart - Queensland Government
Katharine Robertson - Queensland Government
Christine L. Dudgeon - University of the Sunshine Coast
Publication details: Conservation Genetics, Vol.27(2), pp.1-14
Publisher: Springer Dordrecht
Date published: 2026
DOI: 10.1007/s10592-026-01771-0
ISSN: 1572-9737
Copyright note: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Data Availability: Data are available on request from the authors.
Grant note: This project is part of the Reef Island Refuge Initiative, supported by funding from Partners, Lendlease, the Australian Government, the Queensland Government, and the Fitzgerald Family Foundation.
Organisation Unit: K'gari Research Cluster; School of Science, Technology and Engineering; Centre for Bioinnovation
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991214173802621
Output Type: Journal article

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