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No evidence of sex‐biased dispersal in an island population of Common Blackbirds Turdus merula
Author(s) -
Engler Jan O.,
Sacher Thomas,
Elle Ortwin,
Coppack Timothy,
Bairlein Franz
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
ibis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.933
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1474-919X
pISSN - 0019-1019
DOI - 10.1111/ibi.12176
Subject(s) - biological dispersal , habitat , biology , ecology , population , geography , demography , sociology
Natal dispersal has major consequences for the dynamics and genetic structure of populations. Female‐biased natal dispersal, otherwise the norm in birds, is overridden when the place to move is limited, as on isolated islands. This effect was confirmed for the fist time in a European study system, the Common Blackbird breeding on Heligoland Island. Spatially restricted and sexually uniform natal dispersal may be a prerequisite for successful establishment of populations on remote islands or isolated habitat fragments, and this could play a major role in speciation processes.