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The genetics of migration on the move

ByRichard Nissen Reading Time: 1 minute

Intro to the paper
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This paper is important as it begins to investigate a genetic basis to animal navigation  and focuses on finding markers to get a grip on understanding the underlying genetic architecture of migration

Cross-breeding experiments were carried out in the 80/90s by Peter Berthold and his team at the Max Planck Centre in Seewiesen. This work showed that there are two genetic groups of  willow warbler (Phylloscopus Trochllus) in northern Scandinavia.  One group migrate south along the Norwegian coast and the other group along the Baltic Sea.  They found that if you interbreed the two groups you get birds that are disorientated and try to migrate down the middle which does not work.

Richard Nissen
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Liedvogel 2011 – The genetics of migration on the move
by Miriam Liedvogel, Susanne A°kesson and Staffan Bensch CAnMove Centre, Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, 223 62 Lund, Sweden.

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