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SEPG 2174 - Date Awarded 2003
Population genetics of the polymorphic Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo)
Oliver Krüger
Abstract
The Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) occurs in three different plumage phenotypes all across Europe (light, intermediate, dark). In the study population in Eastern Westphalia, Germany, individuals have been followed over their entire lifetime since 1989. There are highly significant fitness differences between these three phenotypes: intermediate birds have the highest fitness, followed by light birds and dark birds. There are no morphometric differences between the three morphs in this population and also nowhere else in Europe. There are also differences in the frequency of the three morphs in the population: intermediates are most common (65% of the population), followed by light (30%) and dark birds (5%). Because of these differences in frequency and the fact that there is assortative mating in the population (intermediates prefer intermediates, lights prefer lights and dark birds prefer dark partners), there might be differences between the morphs in genetic diversity and inbreeding levels and these might influence the large fitness differences between the morphs. In order to test this, we collected blood samples from all three morphs and determined levels of inbreeding. There was no significant difference between the three morphs with regard to inbreeding level. This, coupled with the large fitness differences between the morphs, seems to indicate that either inbreeding depression is not particularly important in this population, or that most adults and their young are produced by the fitter intermediate birds and hence levels of inbreeding are not different between the morphs.
Full report: SEPG2174
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