Type: report
Article abstract: This is a final report for the project "Social Structure and Genetic Connectivity in the Southern Mule Deer: Implications for Management" to Andrew J. Bohonak from California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW); April 1, 2012 to March 1, 2014; SDSURF Fund 57103A; CDFW grant agreement P1182117).
Number of pages: 45
Authors: Bohonak, Andrew; Mitelberg, Anna;
Day: 16
Month: April
Year: 2014
Purpose: Prior to this project, Bohonak’s graduate student Anna Mitelberg conducted a microsatellite DNA fingerprinting study of 184 scat piles collected from 2005 to 2007 (Mitelberg, 2010). The Mitelberg study only included six microsatellite markers, which limits resolution for many of the analyses that can be conducted in a high-gene flow landscape using population genetic data. Because the statistical power of the study was low (only six loci), it could not be published in the peer-reviewed literature. Currently, studies with 12-30 independent microsatellites are common. Although some conclusions in the original study were well supported (particular those based on individual movement as inferred from genetic fingerprints), statistically supported conclusions about the scale of population differentiation were limited. The goals of this study were to: 1. Improve the laboratory methods to include more genetic markers. 2. Genetically analyze both old and new mule deer samples with the full set of genetic markers. 3. Make management recommendations based on population genetic analyses, including how future changes in connectivity might be detected.
Prepared for: California Department of Fish and Game;
Prepared by: San Diego State University;
Keywords: genetic studies; microsatellites; mule deer;
Species: Southern mule deer
Projects: