Environmental causes of regional variations in Upland Goose (Chloephaga picta) color morphs

Environmental causes of regional variations in Upland Goose (Chloephaga picta) color morphs | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Environmental causes of regional variations in Upland Goose ( Chloephaga picta ) color morphs Natalia Andrea Cossa, Lucia Bocelli This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3943828/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The color morphs in the Upland Goose, an endemic bird of Argentina and Chile, refer to variations in the plumage coloration in males, displaying either barred, white, or intermediate combinations of the two. These color variations can be influenced by environmental factors and, consequently, may be associated with specific geographical regions. The aim of this work was to determine the extent of Upland Goose color morphs during the breeding season and to identify potential environmental factors contributing to their differences. We compiled data from citizen science platforms and personal observations, identifying 880 records spanning from 2000-2023, covering the entire Upland Goose breeding area. Environmental variables, such as temperature, precipitation, and NDVI, and the maximum entropy modeling method were used to predict the distribution of different color morphs based on the occurrence data. Upland Goose color morphs were not uniformly distributed during the breeding season. The white morph occupied the broadest habitat suitability range, followed by the intermediate morph and, finally, by the barred morph, primarily found in the southern part of Tierra del Fuego and exhibiting allopatry with the white morph. Habitat suitability predictions suggest that barred and intermediate morphs occupy colder and more humid regions with higher precipitation compared to the white morph. These results are particularly valuable for this species given its “threatened” status in Argentina and its current global population showing a declining trend, as morphs may represent genetic variants with potential unique local adaptations and preserving this intraespecific variability is crucial for the species' conservation. birds Patagonia conservation citizen science MaxEnt Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files SupplementaryInformationSI.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3943828","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":272041887,"identity":"6e3230ae-9993-4b54-8892-70b85db5be38","order_by":0,"name":"Natalia Andrea Cossa","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA0UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFAD9gYgYWBBjFJmKM1zAKRFghQtEglgkrAGc/bzxyR+VNTZ8898fnXDjwIJBv727gS8Wix7ktkke84cTpxxO6fsZg/QYRJnzm7Aq8XgQDKbNGPbgQSG2zlpN3iAWgwkcgloOf8YpKXOXv7mmbSbf4jScgNsCzPjhhvsx24TZ8uNx8aWIL9sPJPDdlvGQIKHsF/OJz68AQoxuePHn91888dGjr+9F78WIGCBxgWPAZgkpBwEmD9AaPYHxKgeBaNgFIyCEQgALA1Hq7bSeuUAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"CONICET","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Natalia","middleName":"Andrea","lastName":"Cossa","suffix":""},{"id":272041888,"identity":"7887f014-247c-46bd-a2f9-674609329dab","order_by":1,"name":"Lucia Bocelli","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"CONICET","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Lucia","middleName":"","lastName":"Bocelli","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-02-09 18:25:44","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3943828/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3943828/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":51015079,"identity":"8dbee2fe-1581-41a3-bf66-cf8fbc161cb4","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-02-12 18:30:37","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1810004,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"MainDocument.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3943828/v1_covered_00613510-09a5-4cd4-a5d6-ae69dbe09326.pdf"},{"id":51014978,"identity":"7e86b3fe-fb2a-472a-9825-16bc506f4563","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-02-12 18:22:32","extension":"docx","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":36775,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SupplementaryInformationSI.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3943828/v1/0c3b21fb6798faf8023c90e6.docx"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEnvironmental causes of regional variations in Upland Goose (\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChloephaga picta\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e) color morphs\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"birds, Patagonia, conservation, citizen science, MaxEnt","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3943828/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3943828/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe color morphs in the Upland Goose, an endemic bird of Argentina and Chile, refer to variations in the plumage coloration in males, displaying either barred, white, or intermediate combinations of the two. These color variations can be influenced by environmental factors and, consequently, may be associated with specific geographical regions. The aim of this work was to determine the extent of Upland Goose color morphs during the breeding season and to identify potential environmental factors contributing to their differences. We compiled data from citizen science platforms and personal observations, identifying 880 records spanning from 2000-2023, covering the entire Upland Goose breeding area. Environmental variables, such as temperature, precipitation, and NDVI, and the maximum entropy modeling method were used to predict the distribution of different color morphs based on the occurrence data. Upland Goose color morphs were not uniformly distributed during the breeding season. The white morph occupied the broadest habitat suitability range, followed by the intermediate morph and, finally, by the barred morph, primarily found in the southern part of Tierra del Fuego and exhibiting allopatry with the white morph. Habitat suitability predictions suggest that barred and intermediate morphs occupy colder and more humid regions with higher precipitation compared to the white morph. 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