Abstract
The genetic structure of three blue tit (Parus caeruleus) populations near Antwerp in Belgium was determined with the use of three hypervariable minisatellite DNA single locus probes. The degree of genetic variability within and among populations, deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and population differentiation were estimated to determine whether these DNA regions are informative for studying population processes in birds. All populations were significantly differentiated. In one population, consisting of several subpopulations in discrete wood-lots, a slight heterozygote deficit (Wahlund effect) was observed. More detailed information concerning the population structure was found using Wright's F-statistics. Gene flow between all populations was high. Furthermore, Nei's genetic distance showed a slight increase with increase of geographical distance between populations, despite their close proximity.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Michel Raymond for providing the gene-pop software, and J. Goudet for providing fstat. We also thank Stefan Van Dongen, Francisco Pulido and Professor van Noordwijk for reading and giving helpful comments on the manuscript. We thank the Bracht family for allowing us to work on their estate. G.R.V. holds an Instituut voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek in Nijverheid en Landbouw grant, B.K. is Research Assistant of the Belgian National Fund for Scientific Research and C.V.B. and E.M. are Research Associates of the Belgian National Fund for Scientific Research. This study was supported by grant FKFO 2.0063.93 from the Belgian National Foundation for Scientific Research to A.D.
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Verheyen, G., Kempenaers, B., Adriaensen, F. et al. The genetic structure of Parus caeruleus (blue tit) populations as revealed by minisatellite single locus probes. Heredity 75, 571–577 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1995.176
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1995.176
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