Genomic Variation and Recent Population Histories of Spotted (Strix occidentalis) and Barred (Strix varia) Owls

Spotted owls (SOs, Strix occidentalis) are a flagship species inhabiting old-growth forests in western North America. In recent decades, their populations have declined due to ongoing reductions in suitable habitat caused by logging, wildfires, and competition with the congeneric barred owl (BO, Strix varia). The northern spotted owl (S. o. caurina) has been listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act since 1990. Here, we use an updated SO genome assembly along with 51 high-coverage whole-genome sequences to examine population structure, hybridization, and recent changes in population size in SO and BO. We found that potential hybrids identified from intermediate plumage morphology were a mixture of pure BO, F1 hybrids, and F1 x BO backcrosses. Also, although SO underwent a population bottleneck around the time of the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, their population sizes rebounded and show no evidence of any historical (i.e., 100-10,000 years ago) population decline. This suggests that the current decrease in SO abundance is due to events in the past century. Finally, we estimate that western and eastern BOs have been genetically separated for thousands of years, instead of the previously assumed recent (i.e., <150 years) divergence. Although this result is surprising, it is unclear where the ancestors of western BO lived after the separation. In particular, although BO may have colonized western North America much earlier than the first recorded observations, it is also possible that the estimated divergence time reflects unsampled BO population structure within central or eastern North America.

Automated summary

The study found that potential hybrids with intermediate plumage morphology are a mixture of pure barred owls, F1 hybrids, and F1 x barred owl backcrosses. While the spotted owl experienced a population bottleneck during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, their population sizes have rebounded without historical evidence of decline between 100-10,000 years ago. Genetic separation between western and eastern barred owls has been found to have occurred thousands of years ago, challenging the previous assumption of a more recent divergence.