The Phylogenetic Study of the White-Bellied Sea Eagle [Haliaeetus Leucogaster (Gmelin, 1788)] Based on DNA Barcoding Cytochrome-c Oxidase Subunit I (COI)

Even though not yet considered as endangered, White-bellied Sea Eagle's global population is decreasing due to illegal hunting, bird trading, and deforestation. So far, there hasn't been any report regarding the phylogenetic study of the White-bellied Sea Eagle inhabiting the coastal regions of Java. Moreover, there hasn't been any report on the genetic data, especially COI gene, of the White-bellied Sea Eagle living in coastal area of Java. Thus, in this research, two individuals of Heliaeetus leucogaster (Gmelin, 1788); are compared based on its COI gene sequence to the member of genus Haliaeetus to determine their position in the phylogenetic tree of genus Haliaeetus. COI gene amplification is performed using Forward primer BirdF1 5'- TTC TCC AAC CAC AAA GAC ATT GGC AC-3' and Reverse primer BirdR2 5' ACT ACA TGT GAG ATG ATT CCG AAT-3'. The phylogenetic analysis using MEGA6 with Maximum Likelihood method shows that Haliaeetus leucogaster in this study is related to Haliaeetus leucocephalus (Linnaeus, 1766), Haliaeetus pelagicus (Pallas, 1811), and Haliaeetus albicilla (Linnaeus, 1758)