Microsatellite analysis of population structure in Canadian polar bears
Abstract Attempts to study the genetic population structure of large mammals are often hampered by the low levels of genetic variation observed in these species. Polar bears have particularly low levels of genetic variation with the result that their genetic population structure has been intractable...
Published in: | Molecular Ecology |
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Language: | English |
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294x.1995.tb00227.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1365-294X.1995.tb00227.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1365-294X.1995.tb00227.x |
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crwiley:10.1111/j.1365-294x.1995.tb00227.x 2024-09-15T17:58:21+00:00 Microsatellite analysis of population structure in Canadian polar bears PAETKAU, D. CALVERT, W. STIRLING, I. STROBECK, C. 1995 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294x.1995.tb00227.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1365-294X.1995.tb00227.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1365-294X.1995.tb00227.x en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Molecular Ecology volume 4, issue 3, page 347-354 ISSN 0962-1083 1365-294X journal-article 1995 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294x.1995.tb00227.x 2024-09-03T04:26:49Z Abstract Attempts to study the genetic population structure of large mammals are often hampered by the low levels of genetic variation observed in these species. Polar bears have particularly low levels of genetic variation with the result that their genetic population structure has been intractable. We describe the use of eight hypervariable microsatellite loci to study the genetic relationships between four Canadian polar bear populations: the northern Beaufort Sea, southern Beaufort Sea, western Hudson Bay, and Davis Strait ‐ Labrador Sea. These markers detected considerable genetic variation, with average heterozygosity near 60% within each population. Interpopulation differences in allele frequency distribution were significant between all pairs of populations, including two adjacent populations in the Beaufort Sea. Measures of genetic distance reflect the geographic distribution of populations, but also suggest patterns of gene flow which are not obvious from geography and may reflect movement patterns of these animals. Distribution of variation is sufficiently different between the Beaufort Sea populations and the two more eastern ones that the region of origin for a given sample can be predicted based on its expected genotype frequency using an assignment test. These data indicate that gene flow between local populations is restricted despite the long‐distance seasonal movements undertaken by polar bears. Article in Journal/Newspaper Beaufort Sea Davis Strait Hudson Bay Labrador Sea polar bear Wiley Online Library Molecular Ecology 4 3 347 354 |
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Open Polar |
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Wiley Online Library |
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crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Attempts to study the genetic population structure of large mammals are often hampered by the low levels of genetic variation observed in these species. Polar bears have particularly low levels of genetic variation with the result that their genetic population structure has been intractable. We describe the use of eight hypervariable microsatellite loci to study the genetic relationships between four Canadian polar bear populations: the northern Beaufort Sea, southern Beaufort Sea, western Hudson Bay, and Davis Strait ‐ Labrador Sea. These markers detected considerable genetic variation, with average heterozygosity near 60% within each population. Interpopulation differences in allele frequency distribution were significant between all pairs of populations, including two adjacent populations in the Beaufort Sea. Measures of genetic distance reflect the geographic distribution of populations, but also suggest patterns of gene flow which are not obvious from geography and may reflect movement patterns of these animals. Distribution of variation is sufficiently different between the Beaufort Sea populations and the two more eastern ones that the region of origin for a given sample can be predicted based on its expected genotype frequency using an assignment test. These data indicate that gene flow between local populations is restricted despite the long‐distance seasonal movements undertaken by polar bears. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
PAETKAU, D. CALVERT, W. STIRLING, I. STROBECK, C. |
spellingShingle |
PAETKAU, D. CALVERT, W. STIRLING, I. STROBECK, C. Microsatellite analysis of population structure in Canadian polar bears |
author_facet |
PAETKAU, D. CALVERT, W. STIRLING, I. STROBECK, C. |
author_sort |
PAETKAU, D. |
title |
Microsatellite analysis of population structure in Canadian polar bears |
title_short |
Microsatellite analysis of population structure in Canadian polar bears |
title_full |
Microsatellite analysis of population structure in Canadian polar bears |
title_fullStr |
Microsatellite analysis of population structure in Canadian polar bears |
title_full_unstemmed |
Microsatellite analysis of population structure in Canadian polar bears |
title_sort |
microsatellite analysis of population structure in canadian polar bears |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
1995 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294x.1995.tb00227.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1365-294X.1995.tb00227.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1365-294X.1995.tb00227.x |
genre |
Beaufort Sea Davis Strait Hudson Bay Labrador Sea polar bear |
genre_facet |
Beaufort Sea Davis Strait Hudson Bay Labrador Sea polar bear |
op_source |
Molecular Ecology volume 4, issue 3, page 347-354 ISSN 0962-1083 1365-294X |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294x.1995.tb00227.x |
container_title |
Molecular Ecology |
container_volume |
4 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
347 |
op_container_end_page |
354 |
_version_ |
1810434744449499136 |