scholarly journals Extensive field-sampling reveals the uniqueness of a trophy mountain goat population

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Breen ◽  
Meghan Britt ◽  
Justin B. Johnson ◽  
Daria Martchenko ◽  
Yasaman Shakeri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Isolation By Distance ◽  
Genetic Data ◽  
Field Sampling ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
Phenotypic Data ◽  
The North ◽  
Extensive Field ◽  
Goat Population ◽  
Mountain Goats ◽  
Mountain Goat

ABSTRACTCollaborations between academic researchers and agencies is crucial for genetic data to have a tangible impact on conservation and wildlife management. Such partnerships are particularly important elusive species where the difficult terrain requires that a significant amount of resources and a combination of methods be used to estimate population parameters needed for conservation. We report and multi-year academic-agency collaboration on the North American mountain goat that used an extensive field sampling of genetic and phenotypic data to determine whether, and to what degree, genetic and phenotypic differences separate an isolated population of mountain goats on the Cleveland Peninsula form those in southeast Alaska. We observed significantly larger horns on the peninsula and the population appears demographically isolated. Isolation-by-distance accompanied by limited migration and low effective population size on the Cleveland Peninsula suggest this population will continue to lose genetic diversity. While the large horns of mountain goats have generated interest in re-opening mountain goat harvest on Cleveland Peninsula, our genetic data suggest this population is vulnerable to demographic and environmental perturbations and is unlikely to support a sustained harvest.

Resource limitation in mountain goats: a test by experimental cropping

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 228-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. B. Houston ◽  
V. Stevens
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Density Dependence ◽  
National Park ◽  
Resource Limitation ◽  
Oreamnos Americanus ◽  
Olympic National Park ◽  
Fat Reserves ◽  
Goat Population ◽  
Mountain Goats ◽  
Mountain Goat

Changes are reported in the population dynamics and physical condition of mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) following a reduction in their density at Olympic National Park, Washington, U.S.A. The goat population showed density-dependent responses in initial breeding ages and in litter size. Production and recruitment of kids were more variable at high densities, and these population attributes may show nonlinear density dependence. These shifts in dynamics were associated with increases in live weights and, possibly, in fat reserves. The density dependence shown was insufficient to compensate for removals that approximated the initial production of young, and goat numbers declined precipitously. The implications of these relationships to mountain goat ecology are examined.

scholarly journals Space Use and Seasonal Movement of Isolated Mountain Goat Populations in the North Cascades, WA

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Sevigny ◽  
Amanda Summers ◽  
Emily George-Wirtz
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Space Use ◽  
Washington State ◽  
Clear Understanding ◽  
North Cascades ◽  
Isolated Populations ◽  
Seasonal Movement ◽  
The North ◽  
Mountain Goats ◽  
Mountain Goat

Abstract The spatial distribution and seasonal movement patterns of isolated populations of mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) in the North Cascade range of Washington State is not fully understood. Determining harvest potential in these populations is challenging without a clear understanding of spatiotemporal movement, space use, and spatial overlap. Mountain goat populations in the North Cascades are fragmented and many have declined considerably from historic estimates. Identification of harvestable populations requires a clear understanding of population size, distribution, and movement. We investigated the population trends and spatial distribution of mountain goats in the Boulder River North Harvest Area in the Boulder River Wilderness of Washington State. We reviewed recent mountain goat population estimates and used Global Positioning System collar data to determine year-round and seasonal home range distributions, spatial overlap within these ranges, and proximity of mountain goats to roads and trails. We found 2 populations of mountain goats inhabiting the Whitehorse and Three Fingers Mountains in the Boulder River North Harvest Area. These 2 populations were spatially distinct and did not intermix during our study period. We also found mountain goats using exclusive areas seasonally on Whitehorse Peak. The Whitehorse population appeared to be more vulnerable to harvest than Three Fingers based on its proximity to roads and trails. This study provides space use and movement information on mountain goats in the North Cascades Range that can be used to improve harvest management of fragmented and isolated populations. Our results indicate that a re-evaluation of harvest level, harvest unit boundary, and monitoring strategy may be warranted for the Boulder River North mountain goat harvest area.

scholarly journals Space Use and Seasonal Movement of Isolated Mountain Goat Populations in the North Cascades, WA

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Sevigny ◽  
Amanda Summers ◽  
Emily George-Wirtz
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Space Use ◽  
Washington State ◽  
Clear Understanding ◽  
North Cascades ◽  
Isolated Populations ◽  
Seasonal Movement ◽  
The North ◽  
Mountain Goats ◽  
Mountain Goat

Abstract Background: The spatial distribution and seasonal movement patterns of isolated populations of mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) in the North Cascade range of Washington State is not fully understood. Determining harvest potential in these populations is challenging without a clear understanding of spatiotemporal movement, space use, and spatial overlap. Mountain goat populations in the North Cascades are fragmented and many have declined considerably from historic estimates. Identification of harvestable populations requires a clear understanding of population size, distribution, and movement. We investigated the population trends and spatial distribution of mountain goats in the Boulder River North Harvest Area in Boulder River Wilderness of Washington State. Methods: We reviewed recent mountain goat population estimates and used Global Positioning System collar data to determine year-round and seasonal home range distributions, spatial overlap within these ranges, and proximity of mountain goats to roads and trails.Results: We found 2 populations of mountain goats inhabiting the Whitehorse and Three Fingers Mountains in the Boulder River North Harvest Area. These 2 populations were spatially distinct and did not intermix during our study period. We also found mountain goats using exclusive areas seasonally on Whitehorse Peak that may represent separate or isolated groups. The Whitehorse population appeared to be more vulnerable to harvest than Three Fingers based on its proximity to roads and trails. Conclusions and Management Recommendations: This study provides space use and movement information on mountain goats in the North Cascades Range that can be used to improve harvest management of fragmented and isolated populations. Our results indicate that a re-evaluation of harvest level, harvest unit boundary, and monitoring strategy may be warranted for the Boulder River North mountain goat harvest area.

FEATURES OF THE REPRODUCTIVE FUNCTION OF KARACHAY GOATS DEPENDING ON DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHICAL AREAS OF BREEDING

2021 ◽  
pp. 114-122
Author(s):  
М.I. SELIONOVA ◽  
◽  
Т.V. МАМОNTOVA ◽  
А.–М.М. AYBAZOV
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Function ◽  
Low Fertility ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
North Caucasus ◽  
Potential Fecundity ◽  
Important Conclusion ◽  
Mountainous Regions ◽  
The North ◽  
Mountain Zone ◽  
Goat Population

In recent years, goat breeds with a dairy-meat-wool or combined productivity type, represented by local breeds that are bred mainly in the foothills and mountainous regions of the North Caucasus, Altai, Tyva and Khakassia, have become increasingly widespread in Russia. The Karachay goat population is the most interesting for research, since in their breeding was aimed at obtaining animals with a number of unique productive characteristics and capable of producing the required outputs under the harsh conditions of the mountain and foothill zones of the Caucasus. In view of the limited research on these animals, in particular their reproductive functions, the aim of this study was to investigate the natural implementation of the reproductive function of the Karachay goats in different geographical areas of breeding. There are slight differences in some parameters of Karachay goat reproduction in high mountain zone (from 2000 m a.s.l.) and middle mountain zone (1000–1500 m a.s.l.). An important conclusion is that the recognized low fertility of the Karachay goats is not genetically determined. Analyzing the number of ovulations and fresh yellow bodies in the ovaries by laparoscopy using Karl Storz (Germany) endoscopic equipment, the authors found a potential fecundity of 3.1 (2.8 to 3.4).

Towards understanding paternal extragenic contributions to early amphibian pattern specification: the axolotl ts—1 gene as a model system

Development ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 89 (Supplement) ◽  
pp. 53-68
Author(s):  
George M. Malacinski ◽  
Dorothy Barone
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Data ◽  
Mutant Gene ◽  
Model System ◽  
Early Embryogenesis ◽  
Ambystoma Mexicanum ◽  
Parental Effects ◽  
Phenotypic Data ◽  
Modes Of Action ◽  
Pattern Specification ◽  
Made In

As a model system for understanding the role sperm extragenic components might play in early embryogenesis the genetics and phenotype of the ts—1 axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) mutant gene are reviewed. That mutant gene displays parental effects. It exhibits both maternal (egg-mediated) as well as paternal (sperm-mediated) phenotypic effects. A variety of possible modes of action of the ts—1 gene are reviewed. Comparisons of various precedents to the ts—1 genetic data are made. In addition, novel models which account for the ts—1 phenotypic data are presented.

scholarly journals Detecting selection with a genetic cross

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (36) ◽  
pp. 22323-22330
Author(s):  
Hunter B. Fraser
Keyword(s):  
Skin Color ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Neutral Evolution ◽  
Sign Test ◽  
Stabilizing Selection ◽  
Mrna Levels ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
Phenotypic Data ◽  
Genetic Cross ◽  
Selected Traits

Distinguishing which traits have evolved under natural selection, as opposed to neutral evolution, is a major goal of evolutionary biology. Several tests have been proposed to accomplish this, but these either rely on false assumptions or suffer from low power. Here, I introduce an approach to detecting selection that makes minimal assumptions and only requires phenotypic data from ∼10 individuals. The test compares the phenotypic difference between two populations to what would be expected by chance under neutral evolution, which can be estimated from the phenotypic distribution of an F2cross between those populations. Simulations show that the test is robust to variation in the number of loci affecting the trait, the distribution of locus effect sizes, heritability, dominance, and epistasis. Comparing its performance to the QTL sign test—an existing test of selection that requires both genotype and phenotype data—the new test achieves comparable power with 50- to 100-fold fewer individuals (and no genotype data). Applying the test to empirical data spanning over a century shows strong directional selection in many crops, as well as on naturally selected traits such as head shape in HawaiianDrosophilaand skin color in humans. Applied to gene expression data, the test reveals that the strength of stabilizing selection acting on mRNA levels in a species is strongly associated with that species’ effective population size. In sum, this test is applicable to phenotypic data from almost any genetic cross, allowing selection to be detected more easily and powerfully than previously possible.

Morphological variation in genetically divergent populations of the common whelk, Buccinum undatum (Gastropoda: Buccinidae), across the North Atlantic

2019 ◽  
Vol 128 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hildur Magnúsdóttir ◽  
Snæbjörn Pálsson ◽  
Kristen Marie Westfall ◽  
Zophonías O Jónsson ◽  
Erla Björk Örnólfsdóttir
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Morphological Variation ◽  
Isolation By Distance ◽  
Shell Morphology ◽  
Buccinum Undatum ◽  
The North ◽  
The Common ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
Eastern North Atlantic ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The variation in shelled marine gastropod morphology across small spatial scales can reflect restricted population connectivity, resulting in evolution or plastic responses to environmental heterogeneity. The common whelk, Buccinum undatum, is a subtidal gastropod, ubiquitous in the North Atlantic, that exhibits considerable spatial variation in shell morphology and colour. Given that species delimitation in shelled marine gastropods is often based on shell characteristics, such morphological variation can lead to taxonomic confusion. Phylogeographical analysis based on mitochondrial DNA and microsatellites suggested cryptic species composed of Western and Eastern North Atlantic common whelk populations, the separation of which dates to the onset of the Pleistocene glaciation ~2.1 Mya. Divergence within the Eastern North Atlantic is more recent and characterized by isolation by distance. In the present study, phenotypic variation in shell morphology across the North Atlantic range is analysed and compared with molecular divergence. The morphological variation of B. undatum populations reflected the pattern observed for the molecular markers only for certain comparisons of populations and might, in other cases, reflect larger constraints on the morphological variation and, possibly, the impact of environmental influences.

scholarly journals The Egyptian Collaborative Cardiac Genomics (ECCO-GEN) Project: defining a healthy volunteer cohort

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasmine Aguib ◽  
Mona Allouba ◽  
Alaa Afify ◽  
Sarah Halawa ◽  
Mohamed El-Khatib ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Investigation ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Phenotypic Data ◽  
Genomic Databases ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The North ◽  
Genetic Landscape ◽  
North African Population ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Mri ◽  
Diagnostic Technologies

Abstract The integration of comprehensive genomic and phenotypic data from diverse ethnic populations offers unprecedented opportunities toward advancements in precision medicine and novel diagnostic technologies. Current reference genomic databases are not representative of the global human population, making variant interpretation challenging, especially in underrepresented populations, such as the North African population. To address this, the Egyptian Collaborative Cardiac Genomics (ECCO-GEN) Project launched a study comprising 1000 individuals free of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Here, we present the first 391 Egyptian healthy volunteers recruited to establish a pilot phenotyped control cohort. All individuals underwent detailed clinical investigation, including cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and were sequenced using a targeted panel of 174 genes with reported roles in inherited cardiac conditions. We identified 1262 variants in 27 cardiomyopathy genes of which 15.1% were not captured in current global and regional genetic reference databases (here: gnomAD and Great Middle Eastern Variome). The ECCO-GEN project aims at defining the genetic landscape of an understudied population and providing individual-level genetic and phenotypic data to support future studies in CVD and population genetics.

The genus Microhyla (Anura: Microhylidae) in Pakistan: species status and origins

Zootaxa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4845 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-296
Author(s):  
DANIEL JABLONSKI ◽  
MUAZZAM ALI KHAN ◽  
RAFAQAT MASROOR
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Genetic Data ◽  
Western India ◽  
Indus River ◽  
Species Status ◽  
Short Contribution ◽  
Jammu And Kashmir ◽  
The North ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
North Eastern Part

The territory of Pakistan has been influenced by biota from different geographic directions, and is divided zoogeographically into the Palearctic and Oriental regions (Khan 2006; Masroor 2012). This makes Pakistan one of the important territories in Eurasia in the understanding of past biodiversity dynamics. Well-known examples of Oriental elements among its amphibian fauna are observed in all four families of toads and frogs currently known from Pakistan: Bufonidae, Microhylidae, Megophryidae, and Dicroglossidae. In this short contribution, we focused on the species status and the origins of the genus Microhyla (Microhylidae), known from the north-eastern part (Punjab, Islamabad, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir; Masroor 2012) of the country. However, Sarkar (1984), also reported Microhyla from Bhuj in Gujarat, India, very close to the southern Pakistani province of Sindh. This genus has not yet been reported from the Palearctic region of the country and all currently known localities are from the Oriental parts of Pakistan (i.e. eastward of the Indus River). The genus is represented in the country by M. ornata (Duméril & Bibron, 1841), originally reported as Oxyglossus lima (Khan 1968). However, in view of the overall distribution and diversity of the genus based on genetic data (Garg et al. 2018, 2019; Gorin et al. 2020), it appears that populations from Pakistan could possibly have a different evolutionary history and be different taxon (see the currently scattered range of the genus between northern and western India and Pakistan; Fig. 1). Therefore, we tested this assumption using mitochondrial (mt) and nuclear (n) DNA data. 

scholarly journals Reducing bias in population and landscape genetic inferences: the effects of sampling related individuals and multiple life stages

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e1813 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Peterman ◽  
Emily R. Brocato ◽  
Raymond D. Semlitsch ◽  
Lori S. Eggert
Keyword(s):  
Best Practice ◽  
Isolation By Distance ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Population Sample ◽  
Life Stages ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Sibling Pairs ◽  
Population Sizes ◽  
Landscape Genetic

In population or landscape genetics studies, an unbiased sampling scheme is essential for generating accurate results, but logistics may lead to deviations from the sample design. Such deviations may come in the form of sampling multiple life stages. Presently, it is largely unknown what effect sampling different life stages can have on population or landscape genetic inference, or how mixing life stages can affect the parameters being measured. Additionally, the removal of siblings from a data set is considered best-practice, but direct comparisons of inferences made with and without siblings are limited. In this study, we sampled embryos, larvae, and adultAmbystoma maculatumfrom five ponds in Missouri, and analyzed them at 15 microsatellite loci. We calculated allelic richness, heterozygosity and effective population sizes for each life stage at each pond and tested for genetic differentiation (FSTandDC) and isolation-by-distance (IBD) among ponds. We tested for differences in each of these measures between life stages, and in a pooled population of all life stages. All calculations were done with and without sibling pairs to assess the effect of sibling removal. We also assessed the effect of reducing the number of microsatellites used to make inference. No statistically significant differences were found among ponds or life stages for any of the population genetic measures, but patterns of IBD differed among life stages. There was significant IBD when using adult samples, but tests using embryos, larvae, or a combination of the three life stages were not significant. We found that increasing the ratio of larval or embryo samples in the analysis of genetic distance weakened the IBD relationship, and when usingDC, the IBD was no longer significant when larvae and embryos exceeded 60% of the population sample. Further, power to detect an IBD relationship was reduced when fewer microsatellites were used in the analysis.

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