Dinucleotide microsatellite loci in a migratory wood warbler (Parulidae: Limnothlypis swainsonii) and amplification among other songbirds

Development of conservation and management plans can be aided by genetic data, and the utility of microsatellites for studies of genetic variability, population structure, gene flow, and relatedness makes these loci appropriate for studies of declining natural populations. Wood warblers (Parulidae), a New World family of 115 species of 25 genera, have played an important role in studies of avian ecology, evolution, hybridization, and behaviour. Also, 7% of the species are threatened or endangered (Collar et al. 1992), and populations of other species are locally threatened or declining. We developed polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays of microsatellite loci for Swainson's Warbler (Limnothlypis swainsonii), the only species in the genus Limnothlypis and among the rarest wood warblers in North America (Brown & Dickson 1994). Our PCR primers were tested for their ability to amplify orthologous loci in 19 other wood warblers and five other species of three different families.