Meeting Abstract
Urbanization fragments landscapes and can impede the movement of organisms through their environment, which can decrease population connectivity. We investigated the effects of urbanization on genetic diversity and genetic structure in rural and urban populations of song sparrows (Melospiza melodia). We genotyped 211 song sparrows captured at 7 sites along a gradient of urbanization in and around Blacksburg, VA, using 7 polymorphic microsatellite loci. We used GENEALEX and STRUCTURE to assess genetic diversity and genetic structure among capture sites. We found that genetic diversity was comparable between urban and rural song sparrow populations, and found no significant genetic structure. Other studies have found that urbanization is associated with increased genetic differentiation among populations of song sparrows. However, most previous studies have been conducted in more highly urbanized environments than this study, and have genotyped birds at more microsatellite loci. We are currently adding additional loci to our dataset, but results to date are consistent with genetic panmixia in a less urbanized environment.
