Contents

• Main Authors: R. J. Berry, Josephine Peters, R. J. Van Aarde
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1977
• Subjects: Methods and material 131; Antarctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.549.9516; http://www.ceru.up.ac.za/downloads/Sub-antarctic_House_mice_colonization.pdf

(With 1 plate and 2 figures in the text) House mice havc colonized and survived successfully on a numbcr of Sub-Antarctic islands, where the mean annual temperature is only about SoC, but whcre there is little seasonal fluctuation in climate. Surprisingly this allows almost continuous breeding. On at least two islands (Maequarie and Marion), there are significant changes in gcne frequency in electro phoretically detected enzymes between young (less than three months of age) and old animals from the same population. This indicatcs natural selection acting in opposite directions at different stages of the life cycle. However the genetical compositions of the Macquarie and Marion populations are more distinct from each other than either is from· most British samples. This means that detailed studies of the Sub-Antarctic mouse popula tions are likely to reveal much about local adaptation, while comparison between the rcsponses of different populations may lead to important generalisations about the possible