Gene pool variability of a golden eagle ( Aquila chrysaetos) population from the Swiss Alps

Abstract

Numbers of golden eagles ( Aquila chrysaetos) were severely reduced by hunting towards the end of the last century over large parts of central Europe. To estimate the genetic variation in a currently thriving golden eagle population from the Swiss Alps, organ samples of 15 carcasses, collected during 1975–1993, were used for electrophoretic analysis of 31 isozyme systems encoding for 37 putative structural gene loci. Average heterozygosity ( H e =3.4%) was within the range found in various other bird taxa, despite a probably low “effective population size” of this population early in this century. Nevertheless, the somewhat reduced rate of polymorphism ( P 99%=10.8) and the mean number of alleles ( A=1.11) may indicate reduced genetic variability, although the H:P ratio was within the range of many non-endangered avian species.