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Sustaining genetic variation in a small population: evidence from the Mauritius kestrel

Nichols, Richard A., Bruford, Michael W., Groombridge, Jim J. (2001) Sustaining genetic variation in a small population: evidence from the Mauritius kestrel. Molecular Ecology, 10 (3). pp. 593-602. ISSN 0962-1083. (doi:10.1046/j.1365-294x.2001.01204.x) (Access to this publication is currently restricted. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:6785)

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Abstract

We obtained measures of genetic diversity in 10 kestrel species at a suite of 12 microsatellite loci. We estimated the relative effective size (N-e) of the species using a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) approach, which jointly estimated the locus specific mutation rates as nuisance parameters. There was surprisingly high genetic diversity found in museum specimens of the Mauritius kestrel. Being an endemic species on a small island, it is known to have a long history of small population size. Conversely, kestrels with a continental distribution had N-e estimates that were only one order of magnitude larger and similar to each other, despite having current population sizes that were between one and three orders of magnitude larger than the Mauritius kestrel. We show how many of the theoretical results describing the effective size of a subdivided population can be captured in terms of three rates which describe the branching pattern of the gene genealogy, and that they are useful in estimating the time to migration-drift and mutation-drift equilibrium. We use this approach to argue that population subdivision has helped retain genetic diversity in the Mauritius kestrel, and that the continental species' genetic diversity has yet to reach equilibrium after the range changes following the last ice age. We draw parallels with Hewitt's observation that genetic variation seems to survive species' range compression and is rather vulnerable to range expansion.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1046/j.1365-294x.2001.01204.x
Uncontrolled keywords: coalescent; conservation genetics; glacial refuge; metapopulation; range expansion
Subjects: G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences
G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GN Anthropology
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Anthropology and Conservation > DICE (Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology)
Depositing User: Jim Groombridge
Date Deposited: 01 Sep 2008 13:47 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 09:45 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/6785 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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