Subject: Re: genetic mutations in birds of prey
Date: Apr 13 17:37:26 1995
From: Dennis Paulson - dpaulson at ups.edu


Judy Stone-Roth wrote about deformed hawks: "the data today confirm
mutations . . ."

I'll ditto what Don wrote; I'm a little confused here. How are they
distinguishing genetic mutations from developmental anomalies (which might
be caused by mutations but might not)?

A mutation is an alteration in a gene that can have a wide variety of
effects, but to show the existence of a mutation you would have to have
genetic evidence, either from studies of inheritance or from DNA
examination. Most mutations that alter a gene substantially are lethal.
Those that contribute to evolutionary change typically must be very slight.

A developmental anomaly may be caused by some substance in the environment
interfering with the normal embryonic development of a bird. This is what
causes most of the terrible things that have been reported in young birds.
A syndrome such as "no eyes" or "crossed bill" seems to me more easily
explained by a problem in development, as I think is the case in California
wetlands where the selenium concentration is so high.

I'm not ruling out genetic damage, just wondering about the evidence.

There are enough problems in the environment; do we now have to look
forward to Mutant Ninja Turtledoves?

Dennis Paulson, Director phone: (206) 756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail: dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416