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Expansion of red fox (Vulpes vulpes (L., 1758)) into new arctic habitat and the potential for competition with arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus (L., 1758)) are of considerable conservation concern. Previous work has focused on red fox expanding into contiguous areas with few barriers to dispersal. Here, we examine mitochondrial DNA in red fox on recently colonized St. Matthew Island in the Bering Sea to determine their ultimate origin. Though limited in sample size (n = 7), we found that St. Matthew Island was colonized by North American lineages; surprisingly, despite the >400 km distance to the mainland, we found the island was colonized by at least three mitochondrial matrilines. These results suggest that even extremely isolated places may be colonized by red fox, and that the over-ice or over-ocean dispersal ability of red fox may have been previously underappreciated.

Female natal philopatry has often been implicated as an important factor in moose ( Alces alces ) home range formation, with many populations showing behavioral evidence of sympatric home ranges among related individuals. However, previous genetic studies have failed to detect genetic subpopulation structure, leading to questions as to whether philopatry is a significant factor contributing to intra- and inter-population genetic structure. Here, we examine calving location data from radiomarked individuals ( n = 110) collected in 2 separate populations in Berners Bay and Gustavus, Alaska, to examine the extent to which genetic structure originating from philopatry is evident at fine spatial scales. When populations were combined, their overall relatedness correlogram was significant ( P < 0.001), with mean r = 0.079 between 0 km and 1.5 km ( P = 0.079). Additionally, 13% of the population shows significantly positive relatedness to their 4 nearest neighbors, with an overall average r = 0.19 of those focal individuals to their neighbors. We suggest that habitat structure, especially linear habitats (i.e., river valleys), or habitat bounded with barriers to dispersal, may be a factor in promoting the development of this structure. This study presents the 1st known evidence for fine-scale social genetic structure in moose and natal philopatry to calving locations in moose. In the context of natal philopatry within cervids, these findings identify several cervid-wide commonalities.

Wide-ranging mammals face significant conservation threats, and knowledge of the spatial scale of population structure and its drivers is needed to understand processes that maintain diversity in these species. We analysed DNA from 655 Alaskan caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti) from 20 herds that vary in population size, used 19 microsatellite loci to document genetic diversity and differentiation in Alaskan caribou, and examined the extent to which genetic differentiation was associated with hypothesized drivers of population subdivision including landscape features, population size and ecotype. We found that Alaskan caribou are subdivided into two hierarchically structured clusters: one group on the Alaska Peninsula containing discrete herds and one large group on the Mainland lacking differentiation between many herds. Population size, geographic distance, migratory ecotype and the Kvichak River at the nexus of the Alaska Peninsula were associated with genetic differentiation. Contrary to previous hypotheses, small Mainland herds were often differentiated genetically from large interconnected herds nearby, and genetic drift coupled with reduced gene flow may explain this pattern. Our results raise the possibility that behaviour helps to maintain genetic differentiation between some herds of different ecotypes. Alaskan caribou show remarkably high diversity and low differentiation over a broad geographic scale. These results increase information for the conservation of caribou and other migratory mammals threatened by population reductions and landscape barriers and may be broadly applicable to understanding the spatial scale and ecological drivers of population structure in widespread species.

Alaska caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti) in southwestern Alaska are a poorly understood system, with differing descriptions of their regional population structure, population abundance that has varied greatly through time and instances of the release of domestic reindeer (R. t. tarandus) into their range. Here, we use 21 microsatellites and 297 individuals to investigate the genetic population structure of herds and examine for population bottlenecks. Then, using genetic characteristics of existing reindeer populations, we examine introgression into the wild caribou populations. Caribou of the area are genetically diverse (H E between 0.69 and 0.84), with diversity decreasing along the Alaska Peninsula (AP). Using G ST and Jost's D, we find extensive structuring among all herds; Migrate-n finds that AP herds share few effective migrants with other herds, with Southern AP and Unimak Island herds having the least. Bayesian clustering techniques are able to resolve all but Denali and Mulchatna caribou herds. Using a conservative assignment threshold of q reindeer ≥ 0.2, 3% of caribou show signs of domestic introgression. Denali herd has the most introgressed individuals (6.9%); those caribou herds that were historically adjacent to smaller reindeer herds, or were historically without adjacent herding, show no admixture. This domestic introgression persists despite the lack of managed reindeer in the region since the 1940s. Our results suggest that despite previous movement data indicating metapopulation-like dispersal in this region, there may be unknown barriers to reproduction by dispersing individuals. Finally, our results support findings that wild and domestic Rangifer can hybridize and show this introgression may persist dozens of generations after domestics are no longer present.

Defining genetic populations and detecting hybridization with introduced or domestic taxa are two major concerns for the conservation of population-level diversity. We studied the genetic population structure of large, migratory caribou herds (Rangifer tarandus granti) on Alaska’s North Slope and their potential hybridization with introduced domestic reindeer (R. t. tarandus). Using a population genetics approach, we determined: (1) whether the four caribou herds could be differentiated; (2) how distance and population size appear to drive genetic population structure; and (3) how contact with reindeer has affected the genetic identity of herds. Samples from four caribou herds (n = 245) and reindeer (n = 67) were analyzed at 19 microsatellite loci. We found that North Slope caribou are isolated by distance, with no differentiation among herd pairs except for the most geographically distant herds (F st = 0.003, Jost’s D = 0.023; P-values

The spatial extent of Sitka black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis) populations below the regional scale is relatively unknown, as is dispersal between populations. Here, we use noninvasive samples to genotype 221 Sitka black-tailed deer in three watersheds on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska, separated by a maximum of 44 km, using traditional and spatial genetic approaches. We find that despite geographic proximity, multiple lines of evidence suggest fine-scale genetic structure among the three study sites. The 2 most geographically distant watersheds differed significantly in genetic composition, suggesting an isolation-by-distance pattern. Within study sites, deer exhibited spatial genetic structure within a radius of 1,000 m. Based on a reduced sample of known-sex individuals, females exhibited positive spatial genetic structure within a radius of 500 m but males showed no structure. Moreover, females were more likely to be related to their 5 nearest female neighbors, regardless of distance, than were males. Evidence indicates dispersal by both sexes although it may be more common, or dispersal distances are greater, in males. Nonetheless, analysis of assignment indices and comparison of sex-specific correlograms found no evidence of sex-biased dispersal between watersheds. Patterns of spatial relatedness and connectivity suggest limited dispersal among Sitka black-tailed deer, creating genetic structure on a fine spatial scale, perhaps as small as the watershed.

We tested a protocol for extracting DNA from fecal pellets from Sitka black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis) and evaluated genotyping performance of previously developed microsatellite markers as well as a suite of new markers designed specifically for this study. We screened 30 microsatellites, and identified 7 (23%) loci including 4 new markers, that fit well into a single multiplex and consistently genotyped deer with low error rates. DNA was extracted from 2,408 fecal-pellet samples. Of those, 1,240 (52%) were genotyped successfully at all 7 markers allowing identification of 634 genetically unique deer. Using DNA from fecal pellets collected in the field was an effective technique for identifying and distinguishing among deer.