DOES HUNTING AFFECT THE DEMOGRAPHY AND GENETIC-STRUCTURE OF THE GREYWING FRANCOLIN FRANCOLINUS-AFRICANUS

Hunted and unhunted populations of greywing francolin Francolinus afri canus have been studied in the eastern Cape Province of South Africa i n order to understand the effects of hunting on the demography and gen etic structure of these populations. Greywing population density cycle d annually for both hunted and unhunted populations. However, there wa s an apparent 'pulse' of immigration of sub-dominant birds, and earlie r reproduction, in the hunted populations immediately after the winter hunting season. Average levels of allozyme heterozygosity (H) for hun ted and unhunted populations were both 0.076, and although the proport ion of polymorphic loci per sample and the mean number of alleles per locus for each sample were lower for the hunted populations than for t he unhunted populations, these differences were not significant. Howev er, the hunted populations displayed higher levels of outbreeding (low er F(IS) and F(IT) values) than those for unhunted populations. Theref ore, it is concluded that although greywing francolin populations cont ain relatively high levels of genetic heterogeneity, it is probably th e increased levels of local immigration following hunting which reduce s the effects of any reduction in genetic variation due to a decrease in local population size from hunting.