Isolation and characterization of 11 microsatellite loci from cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) and cross-amplification in other Ardeidae species

The cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) is an invasive species across American continent. Understanding the population genetics of this species is necessary for population monitoring and the development of effective management strategies. Here we present 11 microsatellite loci isolated from B. ibis sampled in the southeastern Brazil. of the 32 primer pairs that were tested on samples from 35 individuals, 11 (34 %) were polymorphic for population-level analyses. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 4. The expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.083 to 0.561. All loci conformed to Hardy-Weinberg and linkage equilibrium. Cross-amplification was successful for 7 of the 11 B. ibis microsatellite loci that were tested in samples from eight Ardeidae species. These markers are the first published microsatellites for B. ibis and they will be useful to understand the population structure and colonization of the American continent by this species.