Líffræðifélag Íslands - biologia.is
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2023
Höfundar / Authors: Snæbjörn Pálsson (1), Elisabeth Knudsen (1), Nuno Martins (2), Tom Gilbert (2) and Jón Einar Jónsson (3)
Starfsvettvangur / Affiliations: 1. University of Iceland, 2. University of Copenhagen, 3. University of Iceland's Research Center at Snæfellsnes
Kynnir / Presenter: Snæbjörn Pálsson
The common eider, Somateria mollisima, is unique among ducks with respect to geographical patterns in morphology, but six subspecies are defined within the species range. In Europe three subspecies are found: S.m. borealis (NE-America, Iceland, Svalbard), S.m. faeroensis (Faroe, Orkney and Shetland Islands) and S.m. mollisima (mainland NW-Europe). Icelandic eiders, presenting by far largest population of ducks in Iceland, were previously classified as a subspecies, S.m. islandica. Genetic studies have supported the divergence of the subspecies but have suggested a mixed origin of the Icelandic population, where eiders in west Iceland showed similarity to the Faroese population but eiders in north Iceland were more similar to eiders in Svalbard and north Norway. Common eiders are known to hybridize with the related king eiders, S. spectabilis. To study the differentiation between common eiders from Iceland and Faroe Islands, 36 skins from the two islands and Greenland were sampled at the Icelandic Institute of Natural History, their genomes sequenced and compared with available genomes in genbanks. The mitogenomes show clear difference between the islands, the Icelandic eiders show larger variation and a more mixed origin, including a hybridization with king eiders. Analysis of the patterns in nuclear genome is ongoing. Genetic variation in color genes were identified and will be used in further studies on reproductive behaviour of eiders in Breidafjördur.