Following the plough: genetic evidence of population expansions of Perdix perdix during early transition and late intensification of agriculture in Denmark and Western Europe

Summary in the original language of the document

The analysis of the haplotype diversity represented by the sequences of the control region in the mitochondria in Danish partridges identified signals of population expansion as was the case in other European grey partridges. Based on this genetic analysis of the Danish recent and historical grey partridges together with previously analysed grey partridges from Germany, Poland, Hungary, France and Italy, it is hypothesized that the timing of the Grey partridge population expansions up through western Europe and the following dispersal of the grey partridge from the last LGM refugium in the French Pyrenees might be explained by the origin and spread of agriculture through Europe i.e. “following the plough”.