Genetic and environmental factors associated with survival of a rare songbird in a fragmented urban landscape
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Abstract
The coastal Cactus Wren (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus) persists in small and fragmented populations throughout southern California that are subject to genetic drift and inbreeding. We combined individual banding and resighting data and genotyped individuals at 22 microsatellite loci to assess whether heterozygosity was associated with survival across three regional Cactus Wren populations on conserved lands in Orange and San Diego Counties between 2009 and 2020. Using Cormack-Jolly-Seber models (CJS) to analyze the 5-year capture histories of 528 individual wrens, we found that age class (hatch year or after hatch year) was the strongest predictor of survival. Individual heterozygosity and precipitation also had positive effects on survival, with survival up to 2 times higher in the most heterozygous individuals compared to the least and up to 1.5 times higher in high precipitation years versus drought years. Multi-locus heterozygosity was significantly correlated across loci, suggesting that inbreeding depression is likely driving the association between survival and heterozygosity. Study results support that genetic rescue efforts that reduce inbreeding have the potential to improve fitness and mitigate further loss of genetic variation in managed populations.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Genetic and environmental factors associated with survival of a rare songbird in a fragmented urban landscape |
| Series title | Conservation Science and Practice |
| DOI | 10.1111/csp2.70155 |
| Edition | Online First |
| Publication Date | October 08, 2025 |
| Year Published | 2025 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Society for Conservation Biology |
| Contributing office(s) | Western Ecological Research Center |
| Description | e70155, 14 p. |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Orange County, San Diego County |