Lack of conspicuous sex-biased dispersal patterns at different spatial scales in an Asian endemic goose species breeding in unpredictable steppe wetlands.

ABSTRACT: Dispersal affects the spatial distribution and population structure of species. Dispersal is often male-biased in mammals while female-biased in birds, with the notable exception of the Anatidae. In this study, we tested genetic evidence for sex-biased dispersal (SBD) in the Swan Goose Anser cygnoides, an Asian endemic and IUCN vulnerable species, which has been increasingly restricted to breeding on Mongolian steppe wetlands. We analyzed the genotypes of 278 Swan Geese samples from 14 locations at 14 microsatellite loci. Results from assignment indices, analysis of molecular variance, and five other population descriptors all failed to support significant SBD signals for the Swan Goose at the landscape level. Although overall results showed significantly high relatedness within col

SUBMITTER: Zhu Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7391341 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature