Abstract
Faray is a 250 ha island in Orkney, uninhabited by humans since 1946. The only small mammal is the house mouse, Mus domesticus, which between 1982 and 1986 fluctuated in numbers from a maximum of 400–500 to less than 50. Over the period when the population was at its smallest, the frequency of Hbbs increased from 29.1% to 46.6%. There was also a decrease in the frequency of a Robertsonian translocation, Rb (4.10) from 36.4% to 13.3% during the study period; two other Robertsonian chromosomes, Rb (3.14) and Rb (9.12), were always homozygous. The change at the Hbb locus is probably the result of genetic drift; this conclusion was reached only after other possibilities were excluded. 1992 The Zoological Society of London
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 233-246 |
Number of pages | 14 |
Journal | Journal of Zoology |
Volume | 228 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 1992 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Animal Science and Zoology