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Genetic and Social Structure of Feral House Mouse Populations on Grizzly Island, California
Author(s) -
Myers Judith H.
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.2307/1934411
Subject(s) - biological dispersal , ecology , biology , house mouse , house mice , population , genetic structure , grassland , colonization , reproduction , mediterranean climate , habitat , zoology , demography , genetic variation , sociology
Two populations of house mice living in open grassland in northern California were tested for demic structure, which has been reported for populations living in farm buildings. Mice captured in each of two 0.8—ha trapping areas were typed for two blood proteins (hemoglobin and an esterase). Nonrandom distributions of genotypes within the populations occasionally occurred, but were not temporally stable. During part of the study, allele frequencies at the hemoglobin locus were significantly different in the two populations. An analysis of selection showed that differential survival and reproduction favored different genotypes in each population. Numbers of mice fluctuated dramatically on the two areas, reflecting the variability of conditions to which feral mice are exposed. A period of colonization occurred in one of the trapping areas, and young females that became sexually mature just before or immediately after their movement to this area were prevalent among the colonizing mice. Dispersal, caused by fluctuating environmental conditions, appears to be an important aspect of feral house mouse population structure, and feral populations are not divided into temporally stable, closed genetic units as are populations living in farm buildings.