MtDNA genetic diversity and structure of Eurasian Collared Dove (<i>Streptopelia decaocto</i>)

<div><p>The Eurasian Collared Dove (<i>Streptopelia decaocto</i>) is one of the most successful biological invaders among terrestrial vertebrates. However, little information is available on the genetic diversity of the species. A total of 134 Eurasian Collared Doves from Europe, Asia and the Caribbean (n = 20) were studied by sequencing a 658-bp length of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cytochrome oxidase I (COI). Fifty-two different haplotypes and relatively high haplotype and nucleotide diversities (H<i>d</i>±SD = 0.843±0.037 and π±SD = 0.026±0.013) were detected. Haplotype Ht1 was particularly dominant: it included 44.03% of the studied individuals, and contained sequences from 75% of the studied countries. Various analyses (F_ST, AMOVA, STRUCTURE) distinguished 2 groups on the genetic level, designated ‘A’ and ‘B’. Two groups were also separated in the median-joining network and the maximum likelihood tree. The results of the neutrality tests were negative (Fu <i>F</i>_<i>S</i> = -25.914; Tajima <i>D</i> = -2.606) and significantly different from zero (<i>P</i>≤0.001) for group A, whereas both values for group B were positive (Fu <i>F</i>_<i>S</i> = 1.811; Tajima <i>D =</i> 0.674) and not significant (<i>P</i>>0.05). Statistically significant positive autocorrelation was revealed among individuals located up to 2000 km apart (r = 0.124; P = 0.001). The present results provide the first information on the genetic diversity and structure of the Eurasian Collared Dove, and can thereby serve as a factual and comparative basis for similar studies in the future.</p>