Genetic variation in male Yellow-headed Blackbirds from the northern Great Plains

Abstract

Electrophoretic differences at 15 presumptive loci were used to assess allelic frequencies, heterozygosities, and polymorphism for male Yellow-headed Blackbirds (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) collected in east-central Alberta, north-central North Dakota, and east-central South Dakota. Five loci were polymorphic and mean heterozygosities ranged from 0.119 to 0.133. Significant differences were detected among these geographic populations of Yellow-headed Blackbirds, primarily due to differences in the allelic frequencies of isocitrate dehydrogenase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. Differences detected were not sufficient to uniquely identify the geographic origin of Yellow-headed Blackbrids.