Data from: Correlations between heterozygosity and reproductive success in the blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus): an analysis of inbreeding and single locus effects

In order to understand the mechanisms behind heterozygosity-fitness
correlations (HFC), it is necessary to employ large numbers of markers
with known function and to independently estimate the variation in
inbreeding in the population. Here we genotyped 794 blue tits with 79
microsatellites that were distributed across 25 chromosomes and that were
classified either as "functional" (N = 58) or
"neutral" (N = 21). We found a positive effect of individual
heterozygosity at multiple loci on clutch size, on the number of eggs
sired by males, and on the number of recruits produced by males and
females. We documented the occurrence of some consanguineous matings and
found evidence for a particular type of population structure that can
contribute to the occurrence of inbreeding. As the set of
"neutral" loci provided more power to detect HFC and identity
disequilibrium, we argue that "neutral" markers are better
predictors of the effects of inbreeding. The number of significant effects
at single loci did not exceed the expected number of false positives and
no strong effects were associated with heterozygosity at
"functional" markers. Thus, the HFC found here cannot be
attributed to strong effects of the loci under study.