Estimating sex-specific dispersal rates with autosomal markers in hierarchically structured populations.
A recent study suggests that sex-specific dispersal rates can be quantitatively estimated on the basis of sex- and state-specific (pre- vs. postdispersal) F-statistics. In the present paper, we extend this approach to account for the hierarchical structure of natural populations, and we validate it through individual-based simulations. The model is applied to an empirical data set consisting of 536 individuals (males, females, and predispersal juveniles) of greater white-toothed shrews (Crocidura russula), sampled according to a hierarchical design and typed for seven autosomal microsatellite loci. From this dataset, dispersal is significantly female biased at the local scale (breeding-group level), but not at the larger scale (among local populations). We argue that selective pressures on dispersal are likely to depend on the spatial scale considered, and that short-distance dispersal should mainly respond to kin interactions (inbreeding or kin competition avoidance), which exert differential pressure on males and females.
Fontanillas
Pierre
P
Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland. pierre.fontanillas@ie-zea.unil.ch
Petit
Eric
E
Perrin
Nicolas
N
D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005828:Genetics, Population; D008297:Male; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats / Q000235:genetics; D008954:Models, Biological; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D011157:Population Dynamics; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D012737:Sex Factors; D012788:Shrews / Q000502:physiology*; D013557:Switzerland