Population and genetic outcomes 20 years after reintroducing bobcats (Lynx rufus) to Cumberland Island, Georgia USA.

ABSTRACT: In 1988-1989, 32 bobcats Lynx rufus were reintroduced to Cumberland Island (CUIS), Georgia, USA, from which they had previously been extirpated. They were monitored intensively for 3 years immediately post-reintroduction, but no estimation of the size or genetic diversity of the population had been conducted in over 20 years since reintroduction. We returned to CUIS in 2012 to estimate abundance and effective population size of the present-day population, as well as to quantify genetic diversity and inbreeding. We amplified 12 nuclear microsatellite loci from DNA isolated from scats to establish genetic profiles to identify individuals. We used spatially explicit capture-recapture population estimation to estimate abundance. From nine unique genetic profiles, we estimate a population size

SUBMITTER: Diefenbach D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4662311 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature