Parakeet inbreedings and hybridisation on the Chatham Islands
Tompkins, D. M., R. A. Mitchell, and D. M. Bryant. 2006. Hybridization increases measures of innate and cell-mediated immunity in an endangered bird species. Journal of Animal Ecology 75:559-564.
This study assessed measures of immune system health in wild populations of hybridizing parakeets on the Chatham Islands, New Zealand. The cosmopolitan red-crowned parakeets recorded had stronger immune systems than the island endemic Forbes' parakeet, consistent with inbreeding. Furthermore, hybrids of the two species had stronger immune systems than pure-bred Forbes' parakeets.
"[A]llowing an enhanced level of hybridization to persist may be the best strategy for ensuring the long-term maintenance of parakeet biodiversity on the Chatham Islands."
This study assessed measures of immune system health in wild populations of hybridizing parakeets on the Chatham Islands, New Zealand. The cosmopolitan red-crowned parakeets recorded had stronger immune systems than the island endemic Forbes' parakeet, consistent with inbreeding. Furthermore, hybrids of the two species had stronger immune systems than pure-bred Forbes' parakeets.
"[A]llowing an enhanced level of hybridization to persist may be the best strategy for ensuring the long-term maintenance of parakeet biodiversity on the Chatham Islands."
Labels: birds, Chatham Islands, inbreeding depression, Islands, parrots and parakeets
posted by Alastair Robertson at 7:46 PM
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