| dc.description.abstract | Migration is a behavioral syndrome that integrates morphological, behavioral and physiological traits. This syndrome exhibits considerable variation within and between species. This variation in migratory behavior has been demonstrated to have a heritable component, and several candidate genes have been identified in previous studies that are linked to migration. The candidate gene approach seeks to uncover genes responsible for variation in migratory behavior by using prior knowledge of characteristics of genes and characteristics of migratory traits. Here, I reviewed the recent results of candidate gene studies related to migration using the Web of Science database and generated an updated list of likely candidates for this study and future studies. The literature search generated 458 candidate genes, which were then used to test for evidence of positive selection (using a dN/dS analysis) among a dataset of migratory and nonmigratory lineages. The dataset used included 13 species of the genus Catharus, including both migratory and nonmigratory species. Eleven candidate genes exhibited evidence of positive selection in at least one species, however, there is not significant evidence of a relationship between the significant candidate genes and migratory behavior. | |
