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We genotyped 1499 greater sage- grouse from 297 leks across Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota using a 15-locus microsatellite panel, then examined spatial autocorrelation, spatial principal components analysis, and hierarchical Bayesian clustering to identify population structure. Our results show that at distances of up to ~240 km individuals exhibit greater genetic similarity than expected by chance, suggesting that the cumulative effect of short-range dispersal translates to long-range connectivity. We also found two levels of hierarchical genetic subpopulation structure. These subpopulations occupy significantly different elevations and are surrounded by divergent vegetative communities with different dominant subspecies of sagebrush, each with distinct terpene defense.
 
We propose five management groups reflective of genetic structure. These genetic groups are largely coincident with existing priority areas for conservation. On average, 85.8% of individuals within each conservation priority area assign to a distinct subpopulation. Our results largely support existing management decisions regarding subpopulation boundaries.
Presenter: Todd Cross, University of Montana and USFS National Genomics Lab for Wildlife & Fish Conservation. Webinar host: Great Northern LCC.

Media Record Details

Dec 14, 2016
Todd Cross

Cataloging Information

Topic(s):
Fire Ecology
Fire Effects
Ecological - Second Order
Wildlife
Recovery after fire
Resilience

NRFSN number: 15108
Record updated: