Microsatellite markers show distinctiveness of released and wild grey partridges in Finland

The main aim of this study was to study whether the present game farm stocks used for releases to the wild in Finland are similar to wild populations in their genetic structure, and if not, whether the wild populations show any signs of hybridisation. A total of 301 feather samples and ten microsatellite loci were used. Samples were collected from France, Great Britain, Finland (wild and captive) and Greece. We estimated pairwise FST–values between study populations, examined population structure and identified possible first generation migrants. Pairwise FST–values indicated structuring among studied populations. Results indicate that the farm stock used for releases deviates from the wild populations. No signs of hybridisation between the released and native birds were detected.