Population genetics of recent colonization suggests the importance of recurrent immigration on remote islands

Aim Founder effects and recurrent immigration are two major factors that potentially contribute to genetic differentiation and population persistence in the early-stage of remote island colonization. However, their relative importance remains controversial. By conducting population genetics analyses of multiple remote island populations of the bull-headed shrike established naturally within several decades, we examined the relative contributions of founder effects and recurrent immigration on these island populations. Location Japan Taxon Lanius bucephalus Methods We used 15 microsatellite loci to analyze the population genetics of four newly established island populations and five Japanese mainland populations. Allelic richness, heterozygosity, genetic differentiation, and the strength of the genetic bottleneck were compared among the islands. Two analyses, STRUCTURE and the DAPC, were conducted to assess the relative influence of founder effects and recurrent immigration on genetic differentiation. Temporal samples collected over eight years on Minami-Daito Island were used to detect any change in genetic structure due to recurrent immigration. Results The founder effect strongly influenced genetic differentiation on the most remote oceanic island, Chichi-jima Island. However, this population became extinct 20 years after colonization, possibly owing to a lack of recurrent immigration. The founder effect moderately influenced a land-bridge island, Kikai-jima Island, indicating the presence of a relatively large founder population without recurrent immigration. Surprisingly, another distant oceanic island, Minami-Daito Island, was likely subject to multiple recurrent immigration events from the mainland, which obscured any genetic differentiation previously established by the founder effect. Main conclusion Underlying the island-specific population dynamics of colonization, founder effects contributed to the genetic differentiation among the three studied island populations. Importantly, however, recurrent immigration strongly affected the population persistence and subsequent evolutionary processes of remote island populations, potentially overwhelming the founder effect. We argue the importance of recurrent immigration in highly remote island colonization, which has been previously overlooked. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.