Patterns of spatio‐temporal genetic variation at a class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC) locus and multiple microsatellite loci were analysed within and between three water vole metapopulations in Scotland, UK. Comparisons of MHC and microsatellite spatial genetic differentiation, based on standardised tests between two demographically asynchronous zones within a metapopulation, suggested that spatial MHC variation w...

Daubenton's bat ( Myotis daubentonii ) is a known reservoir for European bat lyssavirus type 2 (EBLV‐2). An appreciation of the potential for epidemiological spread and disease risk requires an understanding of the dispersal of the primary host, and any large‐scale geographical barriers that may impede gene flow. The spatial pattern of microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA variation was examined to infer patterns of dispersal o...

Populations of red grouse ( Lagopus lagopus scoticus ) undergo regular multiannual cycles in abundance. The ‘kinship hypothesis’ posits that such cycles are caused by changes in kin structure among territorial males producing delayed density‐dependent changes in aggressiveness, which in turn influence recruitment and regulate density. The kinship hypothesis makes several specific predictions about the levels of kinship, aggres...

The phylogeographic pattern of mitochondrial DNA variation in water voles ( Arvicola terrestris ) from 57 localities across the United Kingdom and representative samples from Spain, France, Switzerland and Finland was determined from sequence variation in the central portion of the control region. Twenty‐seven different haplotypes were resolved which formed two distinct phylogenetic clades. This major division separated haplot...

Collecting faeces is viewed as a potentially efficient way to sample elusive animals. Nonetheless, any biases in estimates of population composition associated with such sampling remain uncharacterized. The goal of this study was to compare estimates of genetic composition and sex ratio derived from Eurasian otter Lutra lutra spraints (faeces) with estimates derived from carcasses. Twenty per cent of 426 wild‐collected spraint...

Allelic variation at seven hypervariable tri‐ and tetranucleotide microsatellite loci was used to determine levels of population differentiation between 14 populations of red grouse ( Lagopus lagopus scoticus ) in northeast Scotland, UK. Despite the potential for long‐distance dispersal in grouse, and a semicontinuous habitat, significant population divergence was observed (mean R ST = 0.153; P P