Líffræðifélag Íslands - biologia.is
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2025
Erindi/veggspjald / Talk/poster E44
Höfundar / Authors: Brynhildur Magnúsdóttir (1) & Snæbjörn Pálsson (1)
Starfsvettvangur / Affiliations: 1. University of Iceland
Kynnir / Presenter: Brynhildur Magnúsdóttir
The white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) went through a severe population decline during the 19th and 20th century. In Iceland, the population was reduced from 120 pairs in 1870 to about 20 pairs in 1914 due to human persecution and stayed that way for more than 50 years mainly due to fox poisoning. Previous analyses of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of the white-tailed eagle revealed two distinct genetic lineages within Greenland, Iceland and Norway. Autosomal analysis showed a more geographical structure between countries with genetic isolation of the populations in Greenland and Iceland from the mainland populations. There were signs of populations structure in the Icelandic population and we investigate it further with data from 42 whole-genome sequenced individuals and RADseq data of 144 individuals. Analyses included phylogenetic trees, genetic diversity and principal component analyses (PCA) for autosomes, mitochondrial DNA and sex chromosomes, Z and W. We found no clear population structure in Iceland, but lower genetic diversity was found in the Icelandic population compared to mainland populations. The results from this project provide valuable information on a small and endangered island population.