Abstract
We investigated the status of caribou classified as Rangifer tarandus pearyi by DNA analyses, with an emphasis on those large-bodied caribou identified as ultra pearyi that were collected in summer 1958 on Prince of Wales Island, south-central Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Our comparative assessment reveals that the ultra pearyi from Prince of Wales Island belong to a group of pearyi and are not hybrids of pearyi x groenlandicus, as we found for the caribou occurring on nearby Banks Island and northwest Victoria Island. The ultra pearyi from Prince of Wales Island cluster with high arctic pearyi and are separated genetically from the caribou populations that we sampled on the low Canadian Arctic Islands and the Canadian mainland. Our findings reveal biodiversity below the level of subspecies or regional designations. These results support the position that to retain the biodiversity present among caribou populations on the Canadian Arctic Islands, conservation efforts should be targeted at the smaller scale level of the geographic population, rather than on a wider regional or subspecific range-wide basis.
Highlights
Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) exhibit tremendous ecological plasticity and genetic diversity across the species range
We investigated the status of caribou classi ed as Rangifer tarandus pearyi by DNA analyses, with an emphasis on those large-bodied caribou identi ed as ultra pearyi that were collected in summer 1958 on Prince of Wales Island, south-central Canadian Arctic Archipelago
Our comparative assessment reveals that the ultra pearyi from Prince of Wales Island belong to a group of pearyi and are not hybrids of pearyi x groenlandicus, as we found for the caribou occurring on nearby Banks Island and northwest Victoria Island. e ultra pearyi from Prince of Wales Island cluster with high arctic pearyi and are separated genetically from the caribou populations that we sampled on the low Canadian Arctic Islands and the Canadian mainland
Summary
Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) exhibit tremendous ecological plasticity and genetic diversity across the species range. Debate around the taxonomical classi cation of Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi) is typical of the uncertain nature of the taxonomical nomenclature of Rangifer in general (Miller et al, 2007b; Serrouya et al, 2012; Weckworth et al, 2012). Both Manning (1960) and Ban eld (1961) recognized considerable phenotypic diversity in caribou from the Canadian Arctic Islands. Both Manning (1960) and Ban eld (1961) postulated that the north-south cline occurred due to intergradation between pearyi and groenlandicus that invaded the low Arctic Islands
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