Abstract
IN populations which normally outbreed, matings between close relatives can result in a decrease in the viability and fertility of their offspring. Such inbreeding depression has been shown in a number of laboratory studies of insects1, birds2 and mammals3. We present here the first detailed evidence of inbreeding depression in a natural population and support for the hypothesis4 that one function of dispersal between birth and breeding sites is to reduce an individual's chance of inbreeding.
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GREENWOOD, P., HARVEY, P. & PERRINS, C. Inbreeding and dispersal in the great tit. Nature 271, 52–54 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1038/271052a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/271052a0
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