Introduced Swedish Canada geese (Branta canadensis) have low levels of genetic variation as revealed by DNA fingerprinting

Abstract

The Swedish, Finnish and Norwegian population of Canada geese (Branta canadensis), now amounting to some 30–50 000 birds, was founded by only five individuals. We used DNA fingerprinting to assess the level of genetic variability in minisatellite loci of Swedish Canada geese from two northern areas. For comparison, we estimated the minisatellite variability in lesser white‐fronted geese (Anser erythropus), barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis) and a reintroduced stock of Canadian giant Canada geese (Branta canadensis maxima). The mean similarity between Swedish Canada geese was 0.76 ± 0.15, which is higher than recorded for any other natural bird population. The high similarity implies that a fourfold increase of homozygosity has taken place in this population. The probable cause for the loss of variation is the low number of birds originally introduced and a history of repeated translocations, leading to a sequence of founder events. As a consequence of the high similarity, it has not been possible to use DNA fingerprinting for determination of parenthood in the population studied. Copyright © 1995, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved