Date of Award
December 2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Biology
First Advisor
Susan N. Ellis-Felege
Second Advisor
Brian J. Darby
Abstract
Deer are currently under threat of chronic wasting disease (CWD) throughout North America. With CWD distribution increasing globally, understanding the spread of the disease is paramount for the effective management and conservation of deer populations. Conservation genomics has been shown as an effective method to study the behavior and movement of individuals on the landscape at a broad spatial scale. This approach allows for a multi-state evaluation of habitat and landscape features that may influence the dispersals and subsequent gene flow between populations. This study was designed to assess the genetic population structuring of deer within North Dakota and surrounding states in an effort to understand gene flow, movement, and potential for CWD spread within white-tailed (Odocoileus virginianus) and mule deer (O. hemionus). Our study resulted in the first multi-species assessment of deer population structure and the first spatial genetic study within Montana and North Dakota. We first assessed the population genetic structure of deer throughout Montana and North Dakota using the genomic data from 1069 individuals. We used single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) obtained via double-digest restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (ddRADseq) and filtered them for quality control resulting in 30,261 informative SNPs and 876 individuals. Analysis of white-tailed deer (n = 562 and 29,941 SNPs) revealed two subspecies of white-tailed deer with three subpopulations spread across the Northern Great Plains. Further analysis of the white-tailed deer subspecies revealed two subpopulations within O. v. ochrourus in the Rocky Mountains of Montana and no finer structure detected within O. v. dacotensis in the Plains. Mule deer (n = 346 and 18,587 SNPs) revealed between one and two subpopulations with differences between the Montana prairies and North Dakota Badlands. Landscape features including the Rocky Mountains, the Plains, and the Missouri River may act to influence the population structure across the two states with differing movement strategies being detected within the genetic structure of migratory versus resident mule deer. Secondly, we assessed genetic differentiation throughout North Dakota using the genomic data from 275 white-tailed and 182 mule deer (with known locations) and 22,516 and 11,336 informative SNPs, respectively. Low genetic variation was present in both species and genetic spatial autocorrelation revealed no genetic structure present within either. Analysis of close kin relations revealed two pairs of 2nd degree relations within the white-tailed deer. Mule deer relations included four pairs of 2nd degree relations and 58 pairs of 3rd degree relations revealing a northwest-southeast trend in dispersals. Two pairs of 3rd degree relations within mule deer were between two CWD positive individuals in North Dakota hunting unit 3F2 and one CWD negative individual in hunting unit 4B. Hybridization between all white-tailed and mule deer (n = 490) in North Dakota using 24,648 informative SNPs was found to be 4.1% with two hybrid zones present: a mule deer dominant hybrid zone within the Badlands, and a white-tailed dominant hybrid zone in the southcentral portion of the state. Deer throughout Montana and North Dakota have high rates of gene flow with minimal structural barriers to movement on the landscape. As such, there is high concern for the rapid spread of CWD across the Plains. The genetic variation found throughout the study area demonstrates there are residual impacts from the severe bottleneck that occurred within white-tailed and mule deer in the late 1800’s seen through low genetic diversity throughout the plains.
Recommended Citation
Daman, Sarah Elizabeth, "Population Genetics Of Deer In The Northern Great Plains, USA" (2024). Theses and Dissertations. 6524.
https://commons.und.edu/theses/6524