A Biochemical Genetic Evaluation of Ring-Necked Pheasants

Abstract

Phenotypes of 41 enzyme loci were revealed by vertical starch gel electrophoresis for 11 groups of pheasants (Phasianus colchicus): 8 groups from the established range in Illinois, 1 from traditional Illinois game-farm stock, I from a first filial (F,) cross of game farm x wild pheasants, and 1 from wild pheasants from southern Iowa (n = 9-20 birds/group). Allele frequencies at each locus, the mean number of alleles at each locus, the mean number of polymorphic loci, and indices of heterozygosity were calculated for each group. Genetic differences along a north-south cline for wild pheasants in Illinois were detected from principal coordinates analysis. Genetic analysis of North American pheasants is important for developing guidelines for preventing the loss of genetic variability in confined stocks, identifying characteristics that relate to fitness in the wild, and identifying where genetic mixing of stocks is appropriate. J. WILDL. MANAGE. 52(1):108-112 North American ring-necked pheasants exemplify the challenges of integrating guidelines for genetic conservation of wild vertebrates (Schonelwald-Cox et al. 1983) with management strategies for exotic species. Genetic management of North American pheasants must account for the facts that: (1) the ancestry of introduced pheasant stocks is poorly documented, (2) pheasants have persisted in North America for a relatively short time (<100 generations) in dynamic environments, and (3) the founding populations have been subjected to extensive mixing of genotypes (Warner and Philipp 1987). Genetic information for ring-necked pheasants has not been available because analytical tools for delineating potential differences in genotypes have not been sufficient. The use of plumage or other traits to describe genetic variability has not been adequate (Trautman 1982). Even in extensively studied groups such as fish, phenotypic expressions are too variable for meristic and morphometric data to be reliable (Ihssen et al. 1981). The initial electrophoretic studies of pheasants considered polymorphic protein systems in eggs and sera (Brandt et al. 1952, Sandnes 1954, Baker et al. 1966). Vohs (1966) found that some blood group factors were different for pheasants in southern, central, and northern Iowa. Baker et al. (1966) identified an east-west gradient in h frequency of fast-binding forms of blood protein from pheasants sampled in Illinois, Iowa, and Kansas. Thus, the early genetic analyses indicated differences in pheasant genotypes over broad regions of North America. However, these electrophoretic procedures did not appear adequate for recognizing subpopulations or strains-a level of analytical resolution that would be useful for genetic management of the species. We applied more recently developed starch gel elec rophoretic procedures to assess biochemical genetic variability of captive and wild pheasants in Illinois and Iowa. Our objective was to develop analytical techniques suitable for detecting regional differences in genotypes of pheasants. Our ultimate goal is to foster genetic management of the species, including identification of potentially distinct wild genotypes that should be protected from introductions of other pheasant stock. This work was supported by Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Project W-66-R, the Illinois Natural History Survey, The Illinois Department of Conservation (IDOC), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The IDOC and USFWS have no responsibility for the form and content of this report, or for the conclusions reached. MATERIALS AND METHODS Wild pheasants were collected by hunters and biologists, primarily in fall-winter 1982, from IPresent address: Missouri Department of Conservation, 1110 College Avenue, Columbia, MO 65201.