Dispersal as a means of inbreeding avoidance in a wild bird population

• Published in: Proceedings of the Royal Society. B, Biological sciences Vol. 275; no. 1635; pp. 703 - 711
• Main Authors: Szulkin, Marta, Sheldon, Ben C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London The Royal Society 22.03.2008
• Subjects: Animal Migration; Animals; Animals, Wild; Aves; Bird nesting; Breeding; Dispersal; Evolution; Female; Female animals; Genetics, Population; Great Tit; Inbreeding; Inbreeding Avoidance; Inbreeding coefficient; Inbreeding depression; Male; Mating behavior; Outbreeding; Parus major; Passeriformes - genetics; Passeriformes - physiology; Sexual Behavior, Animal - physiology; Siblings; Wild Population

The long-term study of animal populations facilitates detailed analysis of processes otherwise difficult to measure, and whose significance may appear only when a large sample size from many years is available for analysis. For example, inbreeding is a rare event in most natural populations, and the...