Spatial population genetics in heavily managed species: Separating patterns of historical translocation from contemporary gene flow in white-tailed deer.

ABSTRACT: Approximately 100 years ago, unregulated harvest nearly eliminated white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from eastern North America, which subsequently served to catalyze wildlife management as a national priority. An extensive stock-replenishment effort soon followed, with deer broadly translocated among states as a means of re-establishment. However, an unintended consequence was that natural patterns of gene flow became obscured and pretranslocation signatures of population structure were replaced. We applied cutting-edge molecular and biogeographic tools to disentangle genetic signatures of historical management from those reflecting spatially heterogeneous dispersal by evaluating 35,099 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) derived via reduced-representation genomic seque

SUBMITTER: Chafin TK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8210790 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature