Abstract
Of the approximately 2,500 California bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis californiana) in Oregon, USA, the majority descend from a single transplant of 20 animals from British Columbia, Canada, in 1954. Recently, several populations have experienced poor recruitment, raising concerns that populations may be experiencing inbreeding depression resulting from a genetic bottleneck. We sampled 117 animals from 5 populations in Oregon and 1 population in Nevada to determine genetic variability within and among populations. We found that Oregon populations had fewer mean alleles per locus (2.2-2.4), lower heterozygosity (0.28-0.36), and higher inbreeding potential than animals from Nevada (3.8 alleles/locus, H = 0.53). These results now provide the baseline for rigorous ongoing evaluation of changes to allelic variability, inbreeding potential, variation among populations, and their effects on population demographics for Oregon's California bighorn sheep program. We suggest that evaluation of genetic variability in other source and recipient populations should be used to further understand how and when genetic management can be used for bighorn sheep conservation and management.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 850-859 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Journal of Wildlife Management |
| Volume | 68 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 2004 |
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Keywords
- California bighorn sheep
- Genetic variability
- Heterozygosity
- Inbreeding
- Oregon
- Ovis canadensis californiana
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Animal Science and Zoology
- Ecology
Cite this
Genetic variability of reintroduced California bighorn sheep in Oregon. / Whittaker, Donald G.; Ostermann, Stacey D.; Boyce, Walter M.
In: Journal of Wildlife Management, Vol. 68, No. 4, 10.2004, p. 850-859.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Genetic variability of reintroduced California bighorn sheep in Oregon
AU - Whittaker, Donald G.
AU - Ostermann, Stacey D.
AU - Boyce, Walter M
PY - 2004/10
Y1 - 2004/10
N2 - Of the approximately 2,500 California bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis californiana) in Oregon, USA, the majority descend from a single transplant of 20 animals from British Columbia, Canada, in 1954. Recently, several populations have experienced poor recruitment, raising concerns that populations may be experiencing inbreeding depression resulting from a genetic bottleneck. We sampled 117 animals from 5 populations in Oregon and 1 population in Nevada to determine genetic variability within and among populations. We found that Oregon populations had fewer mean alleles per locus (2.2-2.4), lower heterozygosity (0.28-0.36), and higher inbreeding potential than animals from Nevada (3.8 alleles/locus, H = 0.53). These results now provide the baseline for rigorous ongoing evaluation of changes to allelic variability, inbreeding potential, variation among populations, and their effects on population demographics for Oregon's California bighorn sheep program. We suggest that evaluation of genetic variability in other source and recipient populations should be used to further understand how and when genetic management can be used for bighorn sheep conservation and management.
AB - Of the approximately 2,500 California bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis californiana) in Oregon, USA, the majority descend from a single transplant of 20 animals from British Columbia, Canada, in 1954. Recently, several populations have experienced poor recruitment, raising concerns that populations may be experiencing inbreeding depression resulting from a genetic bottleneck. We sampled 117 animals from 5 populations in Oregon and 1 population in Nevada to determine genetic variability within and among populations. We found that Oregon populations had fewer mean alleles per locus (2.2-2.4), lower heterozygosity (0.28-0.36), and higher inbreeding potential than animals from Nevada (3.8 alleles/locus, H = 0.53). These results now provide the baseline for rigorous ongoing evaluation of changes to allelic variability, inbreeding potential, variation among populations, and their effects on population demographics for Oregon's California bighorn sheep program. We suggest that evaluation of genetic variability in other source and recipient populations should be used to further understand how and when genetic management can be used for bighorn sheep conservation and management.
KW - California bighorn sheep
KW - Genetic variability
KW - Heterozygosity
KW - Inbreeding
KW - Oregon
KW - Ovis canadensis californiana
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=12144269467&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=12144269467&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2193/0022-541X(2004)068[0850:GVORCB]2.0.CO;2
DO - 10.2193/0022-541X(2004)068[0850:GVORCB]2.0.CO;2
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:12144269467
VL - 68
SP - 850
EP - 859
JO - Journal of Wildlife Management
JF - Journal of Wildlife Management
SN - 0022-541X
IS - 4
ER -