The blue tit species complex includes C. caeruleus, found throughout Europe, C. teneriffae, found in North Africa and the Canary Islands, and C. cyanus, found in Asia and eastern Europe. Mitochondrial DNA data can be used to investigate the phylogeography and population structure of these species.
The dataset provided here comprises 34 sequences from the mitochondrial DNA control region of C. caeruleus and C. teneriffae. A sequence from the great tit Parus major is also included, as this would be a suitable outgroup for phylogenetic analysis.
The table below gives sampling location and codes for the sequences in this tutorial
Code | Species | Origin |
CEH | C. teneriffae | Canary Islands - El Hierro |
CFU | C. teneriffae | Canary Islands - Fuerteventura |
CGC | C. teneriffae | Canary Islands - Gran Canaria |
CLG | C. teneriffae | Canary Islands - La Gomera |
CLP | C. teneriffae | Canary Islands - La Palma |
CLA | C. teneriffae | Canary Islands - Lanzarote |
CTE | C. teneriffae | Canary Islands - Tenerife |
MCE | C. teneriffae | Morocco - Ceuta |
ECA | C. caeruleus | Spain - Cadiz |
SRE | C. caeruleus | Sweden - Revinge |
GB | C. caeruleus | Great Britain - Oxford |
Pmaj | P. major | Sweden - Kvismaren |