Type: dissertation/thesis

Article abstract: The Cactus Wren (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus: Troglodytidae), a highly sedentary, nonmigratory bird is distributed among cactus-dominated habitats of the southwest United States and Mexico, including coastal Southern California. The coastal populations are waning and conservation efforts have been enacted to slow the decline of the coastal populations. A paucity of genetic information related to the Cactus Wren has led this study to test for genetic differentiation between coastal and inland birds. This study examined two regions of mtDNA sequences for haplotype variation in 136 individuals in 18 populations from Southern California, Arizona, Texas, and Mexico. There were seven haplotypes for CytB, seven for ND2, and nine for a coastal subset of ND2. There was a significant relationship between genetic and geographical distance within the coastal populations but no significant genetic differentiation between coastal and inland desert Cactus Wren found in this study.