Isolation of 22 new <i>Haliaeetus</i> microsatellite loci and their characterization in the critically endangered Madagascar fish‐eagle (<i>Haliaeetus vociferoides</i>) and three other <i>Haliaeetus</i> eagle species

Abstract

Abstract We isolated a total of 22 microsatellite loci from two Haliaeetus species: the Madagascar fish‐eagle ( Haliaeetus vociferoides ) and the bald eagle ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus ). Five loci were monomorphic in both the Madagascar fish‐eagle ( n = 24–43) and the bald eagle ( n = 2–8) but were found to be polymorphic in other Haliaeetus species. Haliaeetus loci have proved useful for investigating gene flow in Haliaeetus and Aquila eagles. Ten loci were polymorphic in the critically endangered Madagascar fish‐eagle and will be used to investigate the genetic population structure and mating system in this species.