Low levels of genetic variability in pikas from Colorado

Abstract

Genetic variability at 27 loci was analyzed in four populations of pikas (Ochotona princeps) from Colorado. Estimates of mean heterozygosity [Formula: see text] ranged from 0.5 to 1.4%. These results are among the lowest estimates of [Formula: see text] reported for a mammal having a broad distribution, and are the lowest reported for a lagomorph. Data from this study and others estimate [Formula: see text] as 0.71% for pikas from Colorado. Founder effect, followed by drift occurring in small isolated populations during postglacial shifts in the range of the pika, is the most likely explanation for low estimates of genetic variability in pikas from Colorado.

Knowledge graph centered on Low levels of genetic variability in pikas from Co with 6 nodes and 9 connections. Top connected: Ochotona princeps, M. E. Smith, P. E. Johns, D. K. Tolliver, The effects of slope orientation and temperature u.

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