Abstract
Behavioral and genetic characteristics of social groups of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus vir-ginianus) were studied on the Huntington Wildlife Forest, Newcomb, New York. Previous studies have focused on either social behavior or genetic characteristics and have hypothesized that where a social structure is developed, there should also be genetic subdivisions. To date, few empirical data exist to support this hypothesis. This study focuses on two hypotheses: (1) social groups of white-tailed deer represent genetically distinct subunits within the population, and (2) adjacent social groups on summer range and groups that use the same winter range are more genetically similar. Eight social groups are defined based on movement patterns for 45 radio-collared does. Genetic analyses, based on starch-gel electrophoresis, indicate that social groups are genetically distinct subunits, and clusters of social groups using the same winter range may represent an interbreeding unit. We found no association between genetic distance and geographic distance on summer ranges. However, we found a significant association between genetic distance and winter yard membership. Because social groups have a high degree of overlap on summer range, we suspect that individual males breed females in several groups, homogenizing genetic structure. This homogenization would account for the lack of genetic and geographic association between otherwise distinct groups of females on summer range.
Published Version
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