Genetic assessment of a bighorn sheep population expansion in the Silver Bell Mountains, Arizona
Background The isolated population of desert bighorn sheep in the Silver Bell Mountains of southern Arizona underwent an unprecedented expansion in merely four years. We hypothesized that immigration from neighboring bighorn sheep populations could have caused the increase in numbers as detected by...
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PeerJ Inc.
2018-11-01
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| author | John A. Erwin Karla Vargas Brian R. Blais Kendell Bennett Julia Muldoon Sarah Findysz Courtney Christie James R. Heffelfinger Melanie Culver |
| author_facet | John A. Erwin Karla Vargas Brian R. Blais Kendell Bennett Julia Muldoon Sarah Findysz Courtney Christie James R. Heffelfinger Melanie Culver |
| author_sort | John A. Erwin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background The isolated population of desert bighorn sheep in the Silver Bell Mountains of southern Arizona underwent an unprecedented expansion in merely four years. We hypothesized that immigration from neighboring bighorn sheep populations could have caused the increase in numbers as detected by Arizona Game and Fish Department annual aerial counts. Methods We applied a multilocus genetic approach using mitochondrial DNA and nuclear microsatellite markers for genetic analyses to find evidence of immigration. We sampled the Silver Bell Mountains bighorn sheep before (2003) and during (2015) the population expansion, and a small number of available samples from the Gila Mountains (southwestern Arizona) and the Morenci Mine (Rocky Mountain bighorn) in an attempt to identify the source of putative immigrants and, more importantly, to serve as comparisons for genetic diversity metrics. Results We did not find evidence of substantial gene flow into the Silver Bell Mountains population. We did not detect any new mitochondrial haplotypes in the 2015 bighorn sheep samples. The microsatellite analyses detected only one new allele, in one individual from the 2015 population that was not detected in the 2003 samples. Overall, the genetic diversity of the Silver Bell Mountains population was lower than that seen in either the Gila population or the Morenci Mine population. Discussion Even though the results of this study did not help elucidate the precise reason for the recent population expansion, continued monitoring and genetic sampling could provide more clarity on the genetic demographics of this population. |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T07:57:14Z |
| publishDate | 2018-11-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-0cf1bd02f619448d86de643b912a99442023-12-03T00:51:57ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592018-11-016e597810.7717/peerj.5978Genetic assessment of a bighorn sheep population expansion in the Silver Bell Mountains, ArizonaJohn A. Erwin0Karla Vargas1Brian R. Blais2Kendell Bennett3Julia Muldoon4Sarah Findysz5Courtney Christie6James R. Heffelfinger7Melanie Culver8Genetics Graduate Interdisciplinary Program, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States of AmericaSchool of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States of AmericaSchool of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States of AmericaSchool of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States of AmericaMolecular and Cellular Biology Department, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States of AmericaSchool of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States of AmericaSchool of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States of AmericaSchool of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States of AmericaUS Geological Survey, Arizona Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States of AmericaBackground The isolated population of desert bighorn sheep in the Silver Bell Mountains of southern Arizona underwent an unprecedented expansion in merely four years. We hypothesized that immigration from neighboring bighorn sheep populations could have caused the increase in numbers as detected by Arizona Game and Fish Department annual aerial counts. Methods We applied a multilocus genetic approach using mitochondrial DNA and nuclear microsatellite markers for genetic analyses to find evidence of immigration. We sampled the Silver Bell Mountains bighorn sheep before (2003) and during (2015) the population expansion, and a small number of available samples from the Gila Mountains (southwestern Arizona) and the Morenci Mine (Rocky Mountain bighorn) in an attempt to identify the source of putative immigrants and, more importantly, to serve as comparisons for genetic diversity metrics. Results We did not find evidence of substantial gene flow into the Silver Bell Mountains population. We did not detect any new mitochondrial haplotypes in the 2015 bighorn sheep samples. The microsatellite analyses detected only one new allele, in one individual from the 2015 population that was not detected in the 2003 samples. Overall, the genetic diversity of the Silver Bell Mountains population was lower than that seen in either the Gila population or the Morenci Mine population. Discussion Even though the results of this study did not help elucidate the precise reason for the recent population expansion, continued monitoring and genetic sampling could provide more clarity on the genetic demographics of this population.https://peerj.com/articles/5978.pdfBighorn sheepOvis canadensisPopulation growthMicrosatellitesMitochondrial DNAMigration |
| spellingShingle | John A. Erwin Karla Vargas Brian R. Blais Kendell Bennett Julia Muldoon Sarah Findysz Courtney Christie James R. Heffelfinger Melanie Culver Genetic assessment of a bighorn sheep population expansion in the Silver Bell Mountains, Arizona PeerJ Bighorn sheep Ovis canadensis Population growth Microsatellites Mitochondrial DNA Migration |
| title | Genetic assessment of a bighorn sheep population expansion in the Silver Bell Mountains, Arizona |
| title_full | Genetic assessment of a bighorn sheep population expansion in the Silver Bell Mountains, Arizona |
| title_fullStr | Genetic assessment of a bighorn sheep population expansion in the Silver Bell Mountains, Arizona |
| title_full_unstemmed | Genetic assessment of a bighorn sheep population expansion in the Silver Bell Mountains, Arizona |
| title_short | Genetic assessment of a bighorn sheep population expansion in the Silver Bell Mountains, Arizona |
| title_sort | genetic assessment of a bighorn sheep population expansion in the silver bell mountains arizona |
| topic | Bighorn sheep Ovis canadensis Population growth Microsatellites Mitochondrial DNA Migration |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/5978.pdf |
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