No relationship between microsatellite variation and neonatal fitness in Antarctic fur seals, Arctocephalus gazella
Published studies of wild vertebrate populations have almost universally reported positive associations between genetic variation measured at microsatellite loci and fitness, creating the impression of ubiquity both in terms of the species and the traits involved. However, there is concern that this...
Published in: | Molecular Ecology |
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Blackwell
2006
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Online Access: | http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/61/ https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2006.02894.x |
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ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:61 2024-06-09T07:39:00+00:00 No relationship between microsatellite variation and neonatal fitness in Antarctic fur seals, Arctocephalus gazella Hoffman, J.I. Forcada, J. Amos, W. 2006 http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/61/ https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2006.02894.x unknown Blackwell Hoffman, J.I.; Forcada, J. orcid:0000-0002-2115-0150 Amos, W. 2006 No relationship between microsatellite variation and neonatal fitness in Antarctic fur seals, Arctocephalus gazella. Molecular Ecology, 15 (7). 1995-2005. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2006.02894.x <https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2006.02894.x> Zoology Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2006 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2006.02894.x 2024-05-15T08:39:04Z Published studies of wild vertebrate populations have almost universally reported positive associations between genetic variation measured at microsatellite loci and fitness, creating the impression of ubiquity both in terms of the species and the traits involved. However, there is concern that this picture may be misleading because negative results frequently go unpublished. Here, we analyse the relationship between genotypic variation at nine highly variable microsatellite loci and neonatal fitness in 1070 Antarctic fur seal pups born at Bird Island, South Georgia. Despite our relatively large sample size, we find no significant association between three different measures of heterozygosity and two fitness traits, birth weight and survival. Furthermore, increasing genetic resolution by calculating parental relatedness also yields no association between genetic variation and fitness. Our findings are consistent with necropsy data showing that most pups die from starvation or trauma, conditions that are unlikely to be influenced strongly by genetic factors, particularly if the benefits of high heterozygosity are linked to immune-related genes. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Fur Seal Antarctic Fur Seals Arctocephalus gazella Bird Island Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive Antarctic Bird Island ENVELOPE(-38.060,-38.060,-54.004,-54.004) Molecular Ecology 15 7 1995 2005 |
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Open Polar |
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Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftnerc |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Zoology |
spellingShingle |
Zoology Hoffman, J.I. Forcada, J. Amos, W. No relationship between microsatellite variation and neonatal fitness in Antarctic fur seals, Arctocephalus gazella |
topic_facet |
Zoology |
description |
Published studies of wild vertebrate populations have almost universally reported positive associations between genetic variation measured at microsatellite loci and fitness, creating the impression of ubiquity both in terms of the species and the traits involved. However, there is concern that this picture may be misleading because negative results frequently go unpublished. Here, we analyse the relationship between genotypic variation at nine highly variable microsatellite loci and neonatal fitness in 1070 Antarctic fur seal pups born at Bird Island, South Georgia. Despite our relatively large sample size, we find no significant association between three different measures of heterozygosity and two fitness traits, birth weight and survival. Furthermore, increasing genetic resolution by calculating parental relatedness also yields no association between genetic variation and fitness. Our findings are consistent with necropsy data showing that most pups die from starvation or trauma, conditions that are unlikely to be influenced strongly by genetic factors, particularly if the benefits of high heterozygosity are linked to immune-related genes. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hoffman, J.I. Forcada, J. Amos, W. |
author_facet |
Hoffman, J.I. Forcada, J. Amos, W. |
author_sort |
Hoffman, J.I. |
title |
No relationship between microsatellite variation and neonatal fitness in Antarctic fur seals, Arctocephalus gazella |
title_short |
No relationship between microsatellite variation and neonatal fitness in Antarctic fur seals, Arctocephalus gazella |
title_full |
No relationship between microsatellite variation and neonatal fitness in Antarctic fur seals, Arctocephalus gazella |
title_fullStr |
No relationship between microsatellite variation and neonatal fitness in Antarctic fur seals, Arctocephalus gazella |
title_full_unstemmed |
No relationship between microsatellite variation and neonatal fitness in Antarctic fur seals, Arctocephalus gazella |
title_sort |
no relationship between microsatellite variation and neonatal fitness in antarctic fur seals, arctocephalus gazella |
publisher |
Blackwell |
publishDate |
2006 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/61/ https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2006.02894.x |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-38.060,-38.060,-54.004,-54.004) |
geographic |
Antarctic Bird Island |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Bird Island |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Fur Seal Antarctic Fur Seals Arctocephalus gazella Bird Island |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Fur Seal Antarctic Fur Seals Arctocephalus gazella Bird Island |
op_relation |
Hoffman, J.I.; Forcada, J. orcid:0000-0002-2115-0150 Amos, W. 2006 No relationship between microsatellite variation and neonatal fitness in Antarctic fur seals, Arctocephalus gazella. Molecular Ecology, 15 (7). 1995-2005. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2006.02894.x <https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2006.02894.x> |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2006.02894.x |
container_title |
Molecular Ecology |
container_volume |
15 |
container_issue |
7 |
container_start_page |
1995 |
op_container_end_page |
2005 |
_version_ |
1801376633062424576 |