Estimating isolation and genetic differentiation in two Belgian populations of moorhens Gallinula chloropus by using minisatellite and microsatellite DNA markers

Isolation of a population can result in decreased genetic variability as a consequence of inbreeding, random genetic drift and reduced gene flow This effect is reinforced when it concerns a small population. We used two molecular techniques, multilocus minisatellite DNA fingerprinting and microsatellite analysis, to compare population genetic parameters between a small, possibly isolated natural population of moorhens and a large, presumably non-isolated population at a distance of approximately 30 km. Although sample sizes were still relatively low both minisatellite and microsatellite analysis indicated that the small population is not genetically impoverished, despite being located at the centre of a large city. Nevertheless, we found significant between-populational genetic differentiation, which suggests that there is little gene now between the two populations studied.