An ecological maintenance mechanism of genetic diversity focusing on spatial structure and population dynamics of the Hokkaido vole

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26291086
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Ecology/Environment
• Research Institution: Hokkaido University
• Principal Investigator: SAITOH Takashi 北海道大学, 北方生物圏フィールド科学センター, 教授 (00183814)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 荒木 仁志 北海道大学, (連合)農学研究科(研究院), 教授 (20707129)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 生物多様性 / 集団遺伝学

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The relationship between mtDNA and ncDNA diversity was analyzed in order to test a theoretical prediction that mtDNA diversity should be much lower than ncDNA diversity. In contrast to this prediction, mtDNA diversity was higher than ncDNA diversity in many mammalian and avian populations. This was attributed to higher mutation rate in mtDNA, while high variation of the diversities was interpreted as a result of population fluctuation. The relationship between mtDNA and ncDNA diversity differed between mammalian and avian populations: mtDNA diversity was higher in mammals than in birds. This difference could be explained by different dispersal tendency. Male-biased dispersal prevails in mammals, where female-biased dispersal is common in birds. These results supported my hypothesis that sub-population structure plays an important role in maintaining genetic diversity.

Free Research Field

動物生態学