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<p>The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker <i>Dryobates minor</i> exhibits significant intraspecific variation across the Palearctic, with 13 recognized subspecies. This morphological variation has a large clinal component making subspecies boundaries somewhat arbitrary. However, the range of chiefly Asian <i>D. m. danfordi</i> should be easy to circumscribe in respect to European subspecies because it differs in a discrete character state, namely a complete vs. incomplete postauricular stripe. Surprisingly though, there is conflicting literature information on the extension of the range of <i>D. m. danfordi</i> relative to southern European <i>D. m. buturlini</i> in the Balkans<i>.</i> Here, the availability of large numbers of pictures on a citizen-science database (Macaulay library) was leveraged to qualitatively assess the geographic pattern of the extension of the postauricular stripes in the Southern Balkans and the Middle East to clarify the distribution of the two taxa or identify potential zones with admixed character states. The results indicate <i>D. m. danfordi</i> to be restricted to Asia Minor, while the Southern Balkans, including Greece and European Turkey should be attributed to <i>D. m. buturlini</i>. Moreover, the presence of Caucasian <i>D. m. colchicus</i> in northeastern Turkey is suggested in agreement with prevalent biogeographic patterns. The phenotypic break across the Sea of Marmara between <i>D. m. danfordi</i> and <i>D. m. buturlini</i> mirrors genome-wide differentiation in the Middle Spotted Woodpecker. Further work should investigate whether this morphological variation in the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is reflected in genetic data. This study highlights the utility of citizen-science image databases for avian systematics but also discusses their limitations.</p>

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Citizen-science data resolves disputed subspecies limits in the lesser spotted woodpecker Dryobates minor across the Balkans and Minor Asia

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年9月24日

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  • Manuel Schweizer

摘要

The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Dryobates minor exhibits significant intraspecific variation across the Palearctic, with 13 recognized subspecies. This morphological variation has a large clinal component making subspecies boundaries somewhat arbitrary. However, the range of chiefly Asian D. m. danfordi should be easy to circumscribe in respect to European subspecies because it differs in a discrete character state, namely a complete vs. incomplete postauricular stripe. Surprisingly though, there is conflicting literature information on the extension of the range of D. m. danfordi relative to southern European D. m. buturlini in the Balkans. Here, the availability of large numbers of pictures on a citizen-science database (Macaulay library) was leveraged to qualitatively assess the geographic pattern of the extension of the postauricular stripes in the Southern Balkans and the Middle East to clarify the distribution of the two taxa or identify potential zones with admixed character states. The results indicate D. m. danfordi to be restricted to Asia Minor, while the Southern Balkans, including Greece and European Turkey should be attributed to D. m. buturlini. Moreover, the presence of Caucasian D. m. colchicus in northeastern Turkey is suggested in agreement with prevalent biogeographic patterns. The phenotypic break across the Sea of Marmara between D. m. danfordi and D. m. buturlini mirrors genome-wide differentiation in the Middle Spotted Woodpecker. Further work should investigate whether this morphological variation in the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is reflected in genetic data. This study highlights the utility of citizen-science image databases for avian systematics but also discusses their limitations.