| 1. |
- McFarlane, S. Eryn, et al.
(författare)
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The heritability of multiple male mating in a promiscuous mammal
- 2011
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Ingår i: Biology Letters. - 1744-9561 .- 1744-957X. ; 7:3, s. 368-371
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The tendency of females to mate with multiple males is often explained by direct and indirect benefits that could outweigh the many potential costs of multiple mating. However, behaviour can only evolve in response to costs and benefits if there is sufficient genetic variation on which selection can act. We followed 108 mating chases of 85 North American red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) during 4 years, to measure each female's degree of multiple male mating (MMM), and used an animal model analysis of our multi-generational pedigree to provide what we believe is the first estimate of the heritability of MMM in the wild. Female red squirrels were highly polyandrous, mating with an average of 7.0 ± 0.2 males on their day of oestrus. Although we found evidence for moderate levels of additive genetic variation (CVA = 5.1), environmental variation was very high (CVE = 32.3), which resulted in a very low heritability estimate (h2 < 0.01). So, while there is genetic variation in this trait, the large environmental variation suggests that any costs or benefits associated with differences among females in MMM are primarily owing to environmental and not genetic differences, which could constrain the evolutionary response to natural selection on this trait.
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| 2. |
- Bensch, Staffan, et al.
(författare)
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Genomic Resources Notes accepted 1 June 2013-31 July 2013
- 2014
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Ingår i: Molecular Ecology Resources. - : Wiley. - 1755-098X. ; 14:1, s. 218-218
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This article documents the public availability of (i) raw transcriptome sequence data, assembled contigs and UniProt BLAST hits from common crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) and Plasmodium relictum (lineage SGS1) obtained from a controlled infection experiment; and (ii) raw transcriptome sequence data and 66596 SNPs for the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus).
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| 3. |
- McFarlane, S. Eryn, et al.
(författare)
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Very low levels of direct additive genetic variance in fitness and fitness components in a red squirrel population
- 2014
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Ingår i: Ecology and Evolution. - : Wiley. - 2045-7758. ; 4:10, s. 1729-1738
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A trait must genetically correlate with fitness in order to evolve in response to natural selection, but theory suggests that strong directional selection should erode additive genetic variance in fitness and limit future evolutionary potential. Balancing selection has been proposed as a mechanism that could maintain genetic variance if fitness components trade off with one another and has been invoked to account for empirical observations of higher levels of additive genetic variance in fitness components than would be expected from mutation-selection balance. Here, we used a long-term study of an individually marked population of North American red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) to look for evidence of (1) additive genetic variance in lifetime reproductive success and (2) fitness trade-offs between fitness components, such as male and female fitness or fitness in high- and low-resource environments. Animal model analyses of a multigenerational pedigree revealed modest maternal effects on fitness, but very low levels of additive genetic variance in lifetime reproductive success overall as well as fitness measures within each sex and environment. It therefore appears that there are very low levels of direct genetic variance in fitness and fitness components in red squirrels to facilitate contemporary adaptation in this population.
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| 4. |
- Northrup, Joseph M., et al.
(författare)
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Fine-scale genetic correlates to condition and migration in a wild cervid
- 2014
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Ingår i: Evolutionary Applications. - : Wiley. - 1752-4571. ; 7:8, s. 937-948
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The relationship between genetic variation and phenotypic traits is fundamental to the study and management of natural populations. Such relationships often are investigated by assessing correlations between phenotypic traits and heterozygosity or genetic differentiation. Using an extensive data set compiled from free-ranging mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), we combined genetic and ecological data to (i) examine correlations between genetic differentiation and migration timing, (ii) screen for mitochondrial haplotypes associated with migration timing, and (iii) test whether nuclear heterozygosity was associated with condition. Migration was related to genetic differentiation (more closely related individuals migrated closer in time) and mitochondrial haplogroup. Body fat was related to heterozygosity at two nuclear loci (with antagonistic patterns), one of which is situated near a known fat metabolism gene in mammals. Despite being focused on a widespread panmictic species, these findings revealed a link between genetic variation and important phenotypes at a fine scale. We hypothesize that these correlations are either the result of mixing refugial lineages or differential mitochondrial haplotypes influencing energetics. The maintenance of phenotypic diversity will be critical to enable the potential tracking of changing climatic conditions, and these correlates highlight the need to consider evolutionary mechanisms in management, even in widely distributed panmictic species.
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