An emerging application of phylogeography in avian conservation is to use the genetic structure revealed by the DNA markers as a "genetic tag" to track migratory birds throughout their annual cycle. I used inferences from genetic analyses to show how the Pleistocene glaciations have moulded the evolutionary history of a migratory bird, the yellow warbler ( Dendroica petechia ). Based on mtDNA genotypes from 696 breeding birds, I found two monophyletic clades: a highly migratory clade consisting of eastern and western lineages and a less migratory clade consisting of southern and resident lineages. This result is not consistent with the current taxonomy of the species that is primarily based on plumage variation: The eastern (central [...]
