• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: genetic variation; microsatellite DNA; Rangifer; reindeer; Arctic; Svalbard; Porcupine River; Rangifer tarandus; Alaska; Siberia
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.518.469; http://ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/Place/54340000/Publications/cronin-geneticcaribou.pdf

Summary Genetic variation at seven microsatellite DNA loci was quantified in 19 herds of wild caribou and domestic reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) from North America, Scandinavia and Russia. There is an average of 2.0–6.6 alleles per locus and observed individual heterozygosity of 0.33–0.50 in most herds. A herd on Svalbard Island, Scandinavia, is an exception, with relatively few alleles and low heterozygosity. The Central Arctic, Western Arctic and Porcupine River caribou herds in Alaska have similar allele fre-quencies and comprise one breeding population. Domestic reindeer in Alaska origin-ated from transplants from Siberia, Russia, more than 100 years ago. Reindeer in Alaska and Siberia have different allele frequencies at several loci, but a relatively low level of genetic differentiation. Wild caribou and domestic reindeer in Alaska have significantly different allele frequencies at the seven loci, indicating that gene flow between reindeer and caribou in Alaska has been limited.