UNRAVELING THE INTRASPECIFIC PHYLOGEOGRAPHY OF KNOTS CALIDRIS-CANUTUS - A PROGRESS REPORT ON THE SEARCH FOR GENETIC-MARKERS

Mitochondrial DNA control region sequences of 25 Knots sampled from 10 populations and possibly four subspecies (canutus, islandica, rogersi, rufa) were obtained by PCR and direct sequencing. Only 7 haplotypes were found worldwide, all closely related to one another and differing by 1-3 substitutions. Knots have most probably expanded to their current population size from a refugial population that was severely bottlenecked late in the Pleistocene. Preliminary results from RAPDs are consistent with this prediction, in that Knots from North America appear to be genetically distinct from Knots elsewhere.