Identifying population genetic structure is useful for inferring evolutionary process and comparing the resulting structure with subspecies boundaries can aid in species management. The American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) is a widespread and highly diverse species with 17 total subspecies, only 2 of which are found north of U.S./Mexico border (F. s. paulus is restricted to southeastern United States, while F. s. sparverius breeds across the remainder of the U.S. and Canadian distribution). In many parts of their U.S. and Canadian range, American Kestrels have been declining, but it has been difficult to interpret demographic trends without a clearer understanding of gene flow among populations. Here we sequence the first American Kestrel genome and scan the genome of 197 individuals from 12 sampling locations across the United States and Canada in order to identify population structure. To validate signatures of population structure and fill in sampling gaps across the U.S. and Canadian range, we screened 192 outlier loci in an additional 376 samples from 34 sampling locations. Overall, our analyses support the existence of 5 genetically distinct populations of American Kestrels—eastern, western, Texas, Florida, and Alaska. Interestingly, we found that while our genome-wide genetic data support the existence of previously described subspecies boundaries in the United States and Canada, genetic differences across the sampled range correlate more with putative migratory phenotypes (resident, long-distance, and short-distance migrants) rather than a priori described subspecies boundaries per se. Based on our results, we suggest the resulting 5 genetically distinct populations serve as the foundation for American Kestrel conservation and management in the face of future threats.

中文翻译：

---

美国红隼 (Falco sparverius) 基因景观：对监测、管理和亚种边界的影响

识别种群遗传结构有助于推断进化过程，并将所得结构与亚种边界进行比较有助于物种管理。美国红隼 (Falco sparverius) 是一种分布广泛且高度多样化的物种，共有 17 个亚种，其中只有 2 个位于美国/墨西哥边境以北（F. s. paulus 仅限于美国东南部，而 F. s. sparverius品种在美国和加拿大分布的其余部分）。在美国和加拿大的许多地区，美洲红隼一直在减少，但如果没有更清楚地了解人群之间的基因流动，就很难解释人口趋势。在这里，我们对第一个美国红隼基因组进行测序，并扫描来自美国和加拿大 12 个采样点的 197 个人的基因组，以确定种群结构。为了验证人口结构的特征并填补美国和加拿大范围内的抽样空白，我们在来自 34 个抽样地点的另外 376 个样本中筛选了 192 个异常位点。总体而言，我们的分析支持存在 5 个遗传上不同的美国红隼种群——东部、西部、德克萨斯、佛罗里达和阿拉斯加。有趣的是，我们发现虽然我们的全基因组遗传数据支持先前描述的美国和加拿大亚种边界的存在，但采样范围内的遗传差异与推定的迁徙表型（常驻、长距离、和短距离迁移）而不是先验描述的亚种边界本身。根据我们的结果，我们建议由此产生的 5 个遗传上不同的种群作为美国红隼保护和管理的基础，以应对未来的威胁。