The strength of the association between heterozygosity and probability of interannual local recruitment increases with environmental harshness in blue tits.

ABSTRACT: The extent of inbreeding depression and the magnitude of heterozygosity-fitness correlations (HFC) have been suggested to depend on the environmental context in which they are assayed, but little evidence is available for wild populations. We combine extensive molecular and capture-mark-recapture data from a blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) population to (1) analyze the relationship between heterozygosity and probability of interannual adult local recruitment and (2) test whether environmental stress imposed by physiologically suboptimal temperatures and rainfall influence the magnitude of HFC. To address these questions, we used two different arrays of microsatellite markers: 14 loci classified as neutral and 12 loci classified as putatively functional. We found significant relations

SUBMITTER: Ferrer ES 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5192745 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature