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Article Dans Une Revue The Journal of Raptor Research Année : 2001

Sexing Bonelli's eagle nestlings: morphometrics versus molecular techniques

Luís Brito Palma
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Pedro Beja
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Thomas Guillemaud

Résumé

We report details of two PCR-based molecular sexing techniques for the Borielli's Eagle (Hieraaetus fasciatus) and evaluate the reliability of morphometric measurements to predict the sex of nestlings in the field. Blood samples taken from 63 nestlings in southwest Portugal (1994-99) were analyzed using the intron polymorphism method (MI), and 56 of these were also analyzed with the single-strand conformation polymorphism approach (M2). Contamination or poor preservation of samples precluded one sex determination with M1 and six others with M2. Sexing by both methods was concordant for 98.0% of samples. Linear discriminant analysis was used to determine whether any single variable or combination could provide reliable sex determinations, using 10 body measurements from 43 nestlings aged 35-50 d, sexed unambiguously by both molecular methods. Models were evaluated by cross-validation of the original data and from the classification of an external sample (N=12). Females were significantly larger than males. The greatest separation between sexes occurred in body mass, but differences were also noted in tarsus diameter and the lengths of the hind claw, foot, culmen, and forewing; no differences were detected in the lengths of tarsus, fore claw, seventh primary, and central tail feather, A discriminant model including body mass, hind claw length, and age provided the maximum separation between sexes and it correctly sexed 96% of the nestlings. A model including tarsus diameter, hind claw, and age showed similar accuracy. Both models were satisfactory in determining the sex of nestling Bonelli's Eagles between the ages of 35-50 d in the field, but combination with molecular techniques may be preferable in studies requiring absolute precision for every individual handled.
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Dates et versions

hal-02940543 , version 1 (16-09-2020)

Identifiants

  • HAL Id : hal-02940543 , version 1
  • WOS : 000171671400002

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Luís Brito Palma, Sara Mira, Pedro Cardia, Pedro Beja, Thomas Guillemaud, et al.. Sexing Bonelli's eagle nestlings: morphometrics versus molecular techniques. The Journal of Raptor Research, 2001, 35, pp.185-193. ⟨hal-02940543⟩
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