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Determining the Phylogenetic Position of C. Saundersi

CSEF · 2023 Zoology Third Award

Jeong Justin · 11

Overview

The genus Chroicocephalus consists of eleven small-sized gull species. Despite being an ecologically important group of birds, the evolutionary relationship among its species remains unresolved. Furthermore, some scientists speculate that the Saunders's Gull may not actually be a member of Chroicocephalus. In this study, cytochrome b and ATPase 6 nucleotide sequences of 19 different shorebird species were used to create an accurate phylogenetic tree that a) displays the evolutionary relationship among Chroicocephalus species and b) shows the phylogenetic position of the Saunders’s Gull. Then, molecular clock software was used to visualize the divergence times of the 19 species. The results from the phylogenetic tree showed that out of the eleven Chroicocephalus species, only ten of them were classified into a clade. As the Saunders's Gull was not included in this clade, the constructed tree proves that the Saunders's gull is not as closely related to the other Chroicocephalus species as previously thought. Moreover, results from the molecular clock software show that the clade containing the 10 Chroicocephalus species appeared quite recently, with the oldest divergence within this clade occurring only 2.64 million years ago. However, the Saunders’s Gull appeared 7.7 million years ago, further proving that the Saunders’s Gull is not closely related to Chroicocephalus. The methods used in this project to create an accurate phylogenetic tree can also be used for studies on the evolutionary relationship between other animal families and genera, giving us a greater understanding of the biodiversity of our natural world.

Source coverage

This record comes from a published award list, not a complete project archive. Its abstract comes from CSEF's public project showcase as archived by the Internet Archive before judging (https://web.archive.org/web/20230401224130/https://ca-csef.zfairs.com/showcase/ShowcaseInfo?f=838e60b7-ea75-46e8-865c-fde4864244b3); the version presented may differ.

Awards (1)

Competition history

  • CSEF 2023 Zoology · Entry S2211

Resources

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