Genetic variation in birds in relation to predation risk by hawks: A comparative analysis

Abstract

The level of genetic variation among individuals may affect performance by reducing the ability of prey to detect and escape from predators if lack of genetic variation reduces flight ability directly or indirectly through reduced parasite resistance. We investigated vulnerability of common avian prey species to predation by the sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus and the goshawk A. gentilis in relation to an index of genetic similarity among adults of potential prey species. We estimated a prey vulnerability index that reflects the abundance of prey relative to the expected abundance according to local population density, and related this index to band sharing coefficients based on analyses of minisatellites for adults in local breeding populations. The prey vulnerability index was positively correlated with the band sharing coefficient in both predators, even when controlling for potentially confounding variables. These findings indicate that prey species with high band sharing coefficients, and hence low levels of genetic variation, are more readily caught by avian predators. Therefore, predation may constitute a major cost of low levels of genetic variation in extant populations of prey