Genetic Perspectives in Wildlife Management: The Case Of Large Herbivores

Abstract

Changes in population characteristics are usually thought to result from demographic processes or responses to habitat fluctuations with no consideration of possible genetic factors. Populations are often considered to be genetically homogeneous over short distances, invariant over time periods normally considered in population studies, and in genetic equilibrium among different sex-age groups. However, wildlife populations are genetically structured in space, and often have significant differences in gene frequencies over distances that can be easily traversed by individual animals. In addition, genetic characteristics of populations often change annually, and differ among animals of various ages and sexes. For example, white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) can show significant differences in gene frequencies between animals taken over distances as little as 5 km, between sexes, and among fetuses, fawns, and older animals. Thus, wildlife populations are spatially structured, temporally dynamic, and genetically diverse units. These characteristics have implications for the design of management programs and the interpretation of changes or differences in biological resources over space or time. Correlations of functionally important characteristics with an animal’s genotype, or multilocus heterozygosity, are often observed under field conditions. These correlations suggest that certain types of changes in wildlife populations may be at least partially due to genetic causes. This hypothesis, as well as the general need to conserve the genetic variability of wildlife populations, suggests the necessity of incorporating genetic considerations into management plans and of evaluating genetic explanations for observed changes in wildlife populations. Currently available techniques allow the collection and use of genetic information for natural wildlife populations. We discuss examples of how to use genetic information in wildlife management programs.