No evidence of sex-biased dispersal in an island population of Common Blackbirds Turdus merula (original) (raw)

Natal dispersal has major consequences for the dynamics and genetic structure of populations. Female-biased natal dispersal, otherwise the norm in birds, is overridden when the place to move is limited, as on isolated islands. This effect was confirmed for the fist time in a European study system, the Common Blackbird breeding on Heligoland Island. Spatially restricted and sexually uniform natal dispersal may be a prerequisite for successful establishment of populations on remote islands or isolated habitat fragments, and this could play a major role in speciation processes.