| Summary: | We conducted a pilot study investigating the genetic structure of American marten (Martes americana) populations in Ward Hills and Caberfae in the Manistee National Forest. Using live traps, we captured 5 females and 6 males and drew blood samples for genetic analysis. Hair snares were also deployed in Caberfae resulting in samples from 17 red squirrels, 10 rodent and 8 possible marten. We extracted DNA from blood samples and amplified 5 microsatellite loci using the polymerase chain reaction. Using the program KINSHIP, we determined whether pairs of individuals were more likely to be parent-offspring, siblings or unrelated. We found 3 in Caberfae and 2 in Ward Hills who were likely to be parents and offspring, and 5 in Ward Hills that were more likely to be full-siblings. We calculated FST and found it was 0.14 with a p-value of 0.05, indicating that there was moderate genetic differentiation between the sites which suggests restricted dispersal and some loss of genetic diversity.
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