An Analysis of Genetic Diversity in the Pennsylvania State Population of White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) 110 Years After Bottleneck and Translocation

Arcieri, Michael

An Analysis of Genetic Diversity in the Pennsylvania State Population of White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) 110 Years After Bottleneck and Translocation

Persistent URL

http://hdl.handle.net/10456/42713

Author(s)

Arcieri, Michael

Date Issued

May 3, 2017

Abstract

In wildlife conservation, genetic rescue is an attempt to combat the negative genetic effects of population bottleneck by increasing genetic diversity through translocation of new individuals into a threatened population. This method has been used extensively to preserve genetic diversity in overhunted populations, but concerns exist over the long-term consequences of these conservation efforts. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the United States suggest long-term translocation success, with present population density at its highest point since European settlement and genetic diversity comparable to deer herds untouched by European hunting. Deer in Pennsylvania represent one of the oldest examples of these translocations, supporting the method as a viable means of genetic rescue. However, no current studies have analyzed the genetic diversity of this population. We used microsatellite analysis to assess genetic diversity at two loci across a sample of Pennsylvania white-tailed deer collected from hunters, testing our results for genetic bottleneck and comparing them to other recovered white-tailed deer populations. Our results suggest that Pennsylvania deer exhibit no evidence of genetic bottleneck and a level of genetic diversity comparable to recovered deer populations, supporting translocation as a sustainable means to maintain genetic diversity when increasing the size of a threatened population.

Major

Biology

Honors

Biology, 2017

First Reader(s)

Webb, Kristen