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Posts by laighleas: |
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laighleas Member Joined: 01 May 2004 No. of posts: 1  View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 04 May 2004
Topic: Inbreeding depression
I remember seeing something similar on the demise of the Swallowtail butterfly in the UK. As habitats became more fragmented, and more distant from each other, the butterflies became less strong fliers, and thus moved around considerably less, very rarely leaving their patch. I suppose that selection favoured those individuals that stayed where they were, since they could breed. A strong flier that left its particular patch probably has a reduced or nil chance of breeding. Eventually you wind up with a population that remains very local - with potential problems of inbreeding - even if conservation exercises now mean that there are increased opportunities for greater movement. Consequently it may not be enough to simply improve habitats if this process is already underway - the species may still decline because it can no longer take advantage of the enlarged habitat. |
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