Genetic and morphological variation of the Galapagos dove (Zenaida galapagoensis) on four islands of the Galapagos archipelago (Ecuador)

In this study I examined the morphology and genetic variation of the Galápagos dove on four islands of the Galápagos archipelago. I used principal component analysis and discriminant analysis to examine the morphological variation among islands, and between males and females. I used five microsatellite loci to analyze the genetic structure of the different populations and to estimate genetic parameters. Galápagos doves form a panmictic population. Estimated migration rates between islands per generation were high, genetic diversity was from moderate to high, and the allelic richness was comparable to that observed on continental Zenaida doves. I found morphological differences between Santa Cruz and Santa Fe for females and between Santa Cruz vs. Santiago and Santa Fe for males. The Galápagos dove exhibited sexual size dimorphism, being males larger than females. Implications for the lack of accordance between genetic and morphological results were discussed under two hypotheses: ecophenotypic and ecological speciation.