SREL Reprint #1818
Temporal components of genetic variation in migrating and
wintering American wigeon
OLIN E. RHODES, JR.
Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Drawer E, Aiken, SC 29802, U.S.A.
LOREN M. SMITH
Department of Range and Wildlife Management, Texas Tech University, Lubbock,TX
79408, U.S.A.
AND
RONALD K. CHESSER
Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Drawer E, Aiken, SC 29802, U.S.A.
Data from allele frequencies of wintering American wigeon (Anas americans)
from the Southern High Plains (SHP) of Texas were used to monitor changes in
genetic characteristics of the wintering population through time, and to estimate
the average proportion of total genetic variation partitioned among parent
breeding populations. Wigeon were surveyed electrophoretically for genetic
variation at 25 biochemical loci. Changes in total gene diversity were observed
throughout the study period (5 October 1988 to 15 March 1989) at numerous
loci. Significant temporal changes in the genetic composition of the wintering
population were detected, and a minimum of 7 % of the total genetic variation in
these wigeon was thought to be partitioned among the breeding populations
represented on the SHP. A new influx of migrating wigeon, weather-related
movements of wigeon, or spatial subdivision of breeding populations on the SHP
may be responsible for shifts observed in the genetic characteristics of the
wintering population. Significant heterozygote deficiencies in the sample of
wintering wigeon suggest that this species maintains some degree of genetic
structure on the breeding grounds. Genetic data collected from wintering
waterfowl may provide minimum expectations of the degree of genetic
subdivision among breeding populations and may help waterfowl biologists to
detect changes in the composition of wintering waterfowl populations through
time.
SREL Reprint #1818
Rhodes, O.E., Jr., L.M. Smith, and R.K. Chesser. 1993. Temporal components of genetic variation in migrating and wintering American wigeon. Canadian Journal of Zoology 71:2229-2235.
