Ecological characteristics including habitat requirements and social behavior can influence long-term patterns of species’ distributions and gene flow. Characterizing the genetic structure of wildlife populations and identifying the mechanisms driving those genetic patterns is an important tool for biologists to manage populations. Wyoming represents the core range of three heavily managed ungulates that vary in their ecological characteristics. Bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) live in rocky, mountainous habitat that is naturally fragmented in Wyoming and they exhibit matrilineal social structure. Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) live in forests and shrublands and also exhibit matrilineal social structure. Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) live in flat, open habitat including shrublands and grasslands and have more flexible social structure with low levels of relatedness within groups. We investigated the genetic structure of all three species in the context of these ecological differences. We used a combination of microsatellites and single nucleotide polymorphisms to characterize the genetic structure of bighorn sheep, mule deer, and pronghorn throughout the state of Wyoming.
Results/Conclusions:
We found that the genetic structure of these three species aligned with their habitat requirements and degree of social structure. Bighorn sheep had the most genetic structure, representing multiple, distinct genetic clusters in Wyoming that reflect the fragmented mountainous habitat and their matrilineal social structure. Mule deer showed intermediate levels of genetic structure compared to the other two species, which reflects the combination of more connected habitat and matrilineal social structure. Pronghorn exhibited little to no genetic structure, which aligns with their contiguous habitat and lack of familial social structure. Knowing the level of genetic structure in each of these managed species can aid in delineating management units, estimating connectivity for ecological modeling, and monitoring populations over time.