Relatedness Structure and Individual Identification in a Semi-fossorial Shrew (Soricidae: Anourosorex squamipes) - an Application of Microsatellite DNA
Hon-Tsen Yu, Yu-Ying Liao and Chen-Hung Kao (2001) We address the genetic relatedness of the mole shrew, Anourosorex squamipes, in Taiwan, employing 11 microsatellite DNA markers. These markers enable us to assign “bar codes” to each of the 36 mole shrews studied for individual recognition. We analyzed the relatedness among individuals sampled from populations at 3 levels of geographical scale, i.e., individuals sampled within a radius of 3, 15, and 100 km, respectively. The mean relatedness values were inversely proportional to the geographic realms of the populations: the mean relatedness value increased as the range decreased. However, even within the populations of a small range, variations of relatedness were no less than those of populations of larger ranges. Often local populations contained subgroups in terms of relatedness.
Keywords
Anourosorex, Sociality, Relatedness, Shrew, Microsatellite DNA.
