Abstract
Mitochondrial Gene Trees and the Evolutionary Relationship of Mallard and Black Ducks
Highlights
The Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) has a widespread native breeding distribution in the Ho1arctic, including most of western and central North America
The most salient features of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) data in Mallards and Black Ducks are (1) the presence of two genetically distinct arrays of haplotypes that do not coincide with the species designations of the individuals in which they are housed, and (2) the close similarities in haplotype frequency among conspecific populations
The first conclusion derives from analyses that view the haplotypes of individuals as OTUs, a treatment that is justified because mtDNA in vertebrates is maternally inherited, nonrecombining, and effectively haploid
Summary
The Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) has a widespread native breeding distribution in the Ho1arctic, including most of western and central North America. Thelife history of these ducks is such that geographically separated breeding populations might exhibit a greater degree of divergence in maternally inherited mtDNA (Avise, 1986) than in biparentally transmitted nuclear genes. Pair formation in both Mallard and Black Ducks occurs during fall migration and on the wintering grounds (Bellrose, 1976), where considerable mixing of birds from different breeding areas can take place. Males could provide an effective evolutionary avenue for the exchange ofnuclear genes among breeding populations that is largely closed to mtDNA
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