Apparent selective advantage of leucism in a coastal population of Southern caracaras (Falconidae)

Autor: Edelaar, Pim, Donazar, José, Soriano, Matías, Santillan, Miguel Angel, Gonzalez Zevallos, Diego Ricardo, Garcia Borboroglu, Jorge Pablo, Lisnizer, Nora, Gatto, Alejandro Javier, Agüero, Maria Laura, Passera, Carlos A., Ebert, Luis Augusto, Bertellotti, Néstor Marcelo, Blanco, Guillermo, Abril, Monica, Escudero, Graciela, Quintana, Flavio Roberto
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2011
Předmět:
Popis: Background: Southern caracaras are medium-sized raptors with a large range stretching to the southern tip of South America. An aberrant, leucistic plumage is found commonly along the coast of Chubut Province (Patagonia, Argentina). Leucistic birds do not produce dark melanin in their feathers. However, they are not albinos because their eyes are not red. No genetic studies of caracara plumages are known. Hypothesis: The high frequency of leucistic birds in Chubut Province arises because of natural selection. Methods: Map the distribution of leucistic individuals relative to normal individuals. Combine a variety of anecdotal natural history observations, collected over 20 years, into a logical inference. Observations: Leucistic caracaras were found only along a 250-km stretch of rocky oceanic islands and continental outcrops with large seabird colonies in Chubut Province. In the rest of their range, Southern caracaras have dark plumage. Where they do occur, leucistic birds are frequent and co-occur with dark-plumaged birds. Intermediate individuals, presumably heterozygotes, exist. Leucism is not related to age or sex. Leucistic individuals are restricted to a particular habitat. Gene flow has not homogenized the coastal and inland populations. Results: Leucism is not simply due to inbreeding producing more homozygous individuals. Leucism is not due to genetic drift. Leucism is not an environmental effect on individual physiology or development. Leucism is not a transient (plastic) phenomenon. Where they occur frequently, leucistic Southern caracaras are apparently favoured by natural selection, either directly or by pleiotropy. Fil: Edelaar, Pim. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Estación Biológica de Doñana; España Fil: Donazar, José. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Estación Biológica de Doñana; España Fil: Soriano, Matías. Estación Científica de Bahía Bustamante; Argentina Fil: Santillán, Miguel Angel. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Recursos Naturales; Argentina Fil: Gonzalez Zevallos, Diego Ricardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; Argentina Fil: Garcia Borboroglu, Jorge Pablo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; Argentina Fil: Lisnizer, Nora. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; Argentina Fil: Gatto, Alejandro Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; Argentina Fil: Agüero, Maria Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; Argentina Fil: Passera, Carlos A.. Causana Viajes; Argentina Fil: Ebert, Luis Augusto. Centro Universitario Leonardo Da Vinci (uniasselvi); Brasil Fil: Bertellotti, Néstor Marcelo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; Argentina Fil: Blanco, Guillermo. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales; España Fil: Abril, Monica. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia "San Juan Bosco"; Argentina Fil: Escudero, Graciela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; Argentina Fil: Quintana, Flavio Roberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; Argentina
Databáze: OpenAIRE