Lee Jin-Won, Jang Byoung-Soon, Dawson Deborah A, Burke Terry, Hatchwell Ben J
Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
Mol Ecol. 2009 Jun;18(12):2728-39. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2009.04228.x. Epub 2009 May 25.
The pattern of fine-scale genetic structure in a population may reflect current biological processes of the species, such as natal dispersal, the breeding system and demography. We investigated the spatial distribution of nests and fine-scale genetic structure during two breeding seasons in a population of a weakly territorial, flock-living passerine bird, the vinous-throated parrotbill, Paradoxornis webbianus. Nest distribution was clustered. There were two peaks of egg laying within each breeding season, and spatial clustering of nests was more extreme during the second peak after controlling for breeding density. The patterns of genetic structure during the breeding season varied with parental sex and season. Genetic structure occurred during the second laying peak: males breeding within 200 m of one another at this time were significantly more closely related than males breeding farther apart. However, no apparent genetic structure was detected in males during the first laying peak or among females in either laying peak. These results reveal male-oriented kin affiliation during part of the breeding season in this species. Furthermore, juvenile recruitment into the winter flocks was positively related to this increased relatedness among males via kin affiliation. This study implies that fine-scale genetic structure during the breeding season could be a factor determining individual fitness and may play an important role in our understanding of the evolution of social systems.
种群中精细尺度的遗传结构模式可能反映该物种当前的生物学过程，如出生扩散、繁殖系统和种群统计学特征。我们研究了一种领地意识较弱、群居的雀形目鸟类——酒红朱雀（Paradoxornis webbianus）种群在两个繁殖季节的巢穴空间分布和精细尺度的遗传结构。巢穴分布呈聚集状态。每个繁殖季节有两个产卵高峰，在控制繁殖密度后，第二个高峰期间巢穴的空间聚集更为明显。繁殖季节的遗传结构模式因亲代性别和季节而异。遗传结构出现在第二个产卵高峰期间：此时彼此距离在200米以内繁殖的雄性比距离更远繁殖的雄性亲缘关系显著更近。然而，在第一个产卵高峰期间的雄性中或在任何一个产卵高峰期间的雌性中均未检测到明显的遗传结构。这些结果揭示了该物种在繁殖季节部分时间内以雄性为导向的亲缘关系。此外，通过亲缘关系，雄性之间这种增加的亲缘度与冬季鸟群中幼鸟的补充呈正相关。这项研究表明，繁殖季节的精细尺度遗传结构可能是决定个体适合度的一个因素，并且可能在我们理解社会系统的进化中发挥重要作用。
