Summary
The dispersal rate of the grasshopper Podisma pedestris has been measured, with the aim of interpreting the width of a chromosomal cline. 171 adults were marked individually, and released within the cline. 169 movements were seen over three subsequent scorings; the distribution of distances, after correction for the loss of long distance dispersants, was close to a normal curve, but there was an initial shift of ten metres, perhaps towards a better habitat. The linear variance increased at about 21·4 m2 day−1, which corresponds to a standard deviation of 20·7 m gen−1/2 over a 20 day life span. Statistical uncertainty in this estimate can be expressed using a distribution-free maximum likelihood method, which gives support limits of 18·6−27·0 m gen−1/2. However, the main errors come from extrapolating from this experiment to the cline as a whole.
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Barton, N., Hewitt, G. A measurement of dispersal in the grasshopper Podisma pedestris (Orthoptera: acrididae). Heredity 48, 237–249 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1982.29
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1982.29
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