Open AccessThe effects of ecological differences on the amount of enzyme gene variation in Finnish water‐strider (Gerris) species
Author(s) -
VARVIOAHO SIRKKALIISA
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
hereditas
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.819
H-Index - 50
eISSN - 1601-5223
pISSN - 0018-0661
DOI - 10.1111/j.1601-5223.1981.tb01728.x
Subject(s) - biology , variation (astronomy) , habitat , population , ecology , gene , evolutionary biology , zoology , genetics , demography , physics , sociology , astrophysics
Enzyme gene variation in eight of the nine Finnish Gerris Fabr. species was studied. The species can be classified according to various ecological characters which can serve as explanations for the classification based on the levels of enzyme gene variation. These explanations rest on the basic assumption that the enzyme genic variation is adaptively mainly neutral. The level of genie variation does not correlate with local population sizes, but correlates clearly with effective population sizes, which can qualitatively be estimated on the basis of dispersion efficiencies, abundances and habitat stabilities of the species. The two common and abundant species are much more variable than the others, which are more or less rare. One species is completely invariable at all loci studied; this is the rarest species studied and also the only species which completely lacks flight ability.