title: Inbreeding: when parents transmit more than genes.
abstract: Inbreeding in wild populations can have devastating effects on fitness, but the genetic causes should not be transmitted across generations. A new study of song sparrows has revealed a parent-offspring resemblance for inbreeding, resulting from population structuring, with important implications for understanding the genetic causes of phenotypic variation in wild populations.
authors.affiliation: Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Szulkin
authors.forename: Ben C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Sheldon
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D001955:British Columbia; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D007178:Inbreeding; D008297:Male; D010375:Pedigree; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal; D046370:Sparrows / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology