WENINK PW, SMIT CJ, TILANUS MGJ, MUISWINKEL WB VAN & BAKER AJ (1992) DNA analysis: beyond the limits of morphometries. LIMOSA 65 (3): 109-115.

In order to overcome limitations encountered by morphometries in the identification of subspecies and populations of wader species we developed a method of DNA analysis which is able to '100k beneath the feathers of individual birds. The method is based on the amplification and sequence comparison of pieces of hypervariable mitochondrial DNA. In a preliminary analysis of breeding Dunlins from Iceland, Norway and Siberia, we show that two subspecies can readily be told apart (Siberia and Europe). Within Europe no clear genetic differentiation is found between Dunlins from Iceland and Norway. This method of DNA analysis will be useful for the identification of genetic stocks within a species as well as for the elucidation of breeding ground origins of waders on migration. The latter is exemplified by the analysis of a small number of Dunlins from the international Wadden Sea. Dunlin Calidris alpina = Calidris alpina schinzii

[free pdf] [dutch summary]