Demographic history and genetic diversity in West Indian Coereba flaveola populations

The bananaquit (Coereba flaveola) has been well studied throughout the Caribbean region from a phylogenetic perspective. However, data concerning the population genetics and long-term demography of this bird species are lacking. In this study, we focused on three populations within the Lesser Antilles and one on Puerto Rico and assessed genetic and demographic processes, using five nuclear and two mitochondrial markers. We found that genetic diversity of bananaquits on Puerto Rico exceeds that on the smaller islands (Dominica, Guadeloupe and Grenada); this might reflect either successive founder events from Puerto Rico to Grenada, or more rapid drift in smaller populations subsequent to colonization. Population growth rate estimates showed no evidence of rapid expansion and migration was indicated only between populations from the closest islands of Dominica and Guadeloupe. Overall, our results suggest that a "demographic fission" model, considering only mutation and drift, but without migration, can be applied to these bananaquit populations in the West Indies.