Abstract
Plant and animal populations can adapt to prolonged environmental changes if they have sufficient genetic variation in important phenological traits. The genetic regulation of annual cycles can be studied either via candidate genes or through the decomposition of phenotypic variance by quantitative genetics. Here, we combined both approaches to study the timing of migration in a long-distance migrant, the collared flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis). We found that none of the four studied candidate genes (CLOCK, NPAS2, ADCYAP1 and CREB1) had any consistent effect on the timing of six annual cycle stages of geolocator-tracked individuals. This negative result was confirmed by direct observations of males arriving in spring to the breeding site over four consecutive years. Although male spring arrival date was significantly repeatable (R = 0.24 ± 0.08SE), most was attributable to permanent environmental effects, while the additive genetic variance and heritability were very low (h2 = 0.03 ± 0.17 SE). This low value constrains species evolutionary adaptation, and our study adds to warnings that such populations may be threatened, e.g. by ongoing climate change.
Highlights
We monitored the study area several times a week following the first record of the collared flycatcher in the database for birdwatchers in the Czech Republic
When many new males arrived, the session was carried out the day or within a few days, while the interval was prolonged when only a few new males arrived
Each newly arrived male was brought to the field station placed in the centre of the study area for measurements, ringing and blood sampling, which was done by tibial venipuncture
Summary
Estimation of male arrival date to the breeding site We caught collared flycatcher males at the time of their spring arrival to Velký Kosíř from 2013‒ 2016. 11‒15 catching sessions (days) were carried out.
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