Saturday, January 31, 2015

Genetic Variation in Mexican Scrub Jays

Aphelocoma wollweberi, more commonly know as the Mexican Scrub Jay has recently come under genetic scrutiny because certain populations of them have, seemingly, begun to diverge from other populations which are remaining "pure". Scientists believed that this could be due to hybridization with their relative the Western Scrub Jay, Aphelocoma californica. These birds, in some cases, are known to live in close proximity to one another and share many of the same physical characteristics. Researchers conducted randomized genetic testing of various Mexican Scrub Jay populations living in close proximity to the Western Scrub Jay populations to see if there was significant hybridization. Their results showed that there was very limited hybridization. Scientists now speculated that the similar appearance may be the result of drift, adaptation, or plasticity.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15315684 
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/14/135


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