Abstract
Although theoretical studies have predicted a link between individual multilocus heterozygosity and dispersal, few empirical studies have investigated the effect of individual heterozygosity on dispersal propensity or distance. We investigated this link using measures of heterozygosity at 12 putatively neutral microsatellite markers and natal dispersal behaviour in three contrasting populations of European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), a species displaying pre-saturation condition-dependent natal dispersal. We found no effect of individual heterozygosity on either dispersal propensity or dispersal distance. Average heterozygosity was similar across the three studied populations, but dispersal propensity and distance differed markedly among them. In Aurignac, dispersal propensity and distance were positively related to individual body mass, whereas there was no detectable effect of body mass on dispersal behaviour in Chizé and Trois Fontaines. We suggest that we should expect both dispersal propensity and distance to be greater when heterozygosity is lower only in those species where dispersal behaviour is driven by density-dependent competition for resources.
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Acknowledgments
CV, LD, and JFL were funded by the PATCH RPDOC ANR project (ANR-12-PDOC-0017-01) awarded to CV from the French National Research Agency. This study was supported by the PATCH RPDOC ANR project, the INDHET ANR project (ANR-12 -BSV7-0023-02), the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), and the Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage (ONCFS). We acknowledge L. Vial for her contribution in molecular lab work. We also thank the local hunting associations, the Fédération Départementale des Chasseurs de la Haute Garonne, as well as numerous coworkers and volunteers for their assistance during roe deer capture. Genetic data used in this work were produced through molecular genetic analysis technical facilities of the labex “Centre Méditerranéen de l’Environnement et de la Biodiversité”. Finally, we are grateful to Petter Kjellander, Aaron Shafer, and an anonymous referee for their constructive and helpful comments and suggestions on a previous draft of this paper.
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Vanpé, C., Debeffe, L., Hewison, A.J.M. et al. Reduced microsatellite heterozygosity does not affect natal dispersal in three contrasting roe deer populations. Oecologia 177, 631–643 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-014-3139-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-014-3139-8