Microsatellite loci for behavioural studies of rainbow bee-eaters ( Merops ornatus :Aves)

A set of polymorphic microsatellite loci was identified for population and behavioural studies of the rainbow bee-eater (Merops ornatus). Eight loci were newly isolated from a rainbow bee-eater genomic library enriched for GA-containing repeats, and six loci from those previously reported for the European bee-eater (Merops apiaster). From these two sources, the seven most variable loci that amplified reliably were unlinked and in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, had five to 13 alleles (mean 7.7) and an expected heterozygosity of 0.60-0.86 (mean 0.73)