Rapid growth and genetic diversity retention in an isolated reintroduced black bear population in the central appalachians

Murphy, Sean M.; Cox, John J.; Clark, Joseph D.; Augustine, Benjamin; Hast, John T.; Gibbs, D. B.; Strunk, Mark; Dobey, Steven

doi:10.1002/jwmg.886

Cited by 53 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 83 publications

(119 reference statements)

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“…Importantly, our results indicate very little genetic drift on Midway's offspring (generations F 1 to F 6 ) within the early years post-release. Rapid population growth after a population bottleneck has been shown to reduce the magnitude of genetic drift (Murphy et al 2015), and indeed this rapid population growth was observed at Midway Atoll (λ = 1.73; Reynolds et al 2008). Allele retention in isolated populations over time is also influenced by the rate of population growth, population abundance, and species' life-history characteristics (Tracy et al 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Microsatellite variation and rare alleles in a bottlenecked Hawaiian Islands endemic: implications for reintroductions

Reynolds

Pearce²,

Lavretsky³

et al. 2015

Endang. Species. Res.

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Conservation of genetic biodiversity in endangered wildlife populations is an important challenge to address since the loss of alleles and genetic drift may influence future adaptability. Reintroduction aims to re-establish species to restored or protected ecosystems; however, moving a subset of individuals may result in loss of gene variants during the managementinduced bottleneck (i.e. translocation). The endangered Laysan teal Anas laysanensis was once widespread across the Hawaiian archipelago, but became isolated on Laysan Island (415 ha) from the mid-1800s until 2004 when a translocation to Midway Atoll (596 ha) was undertaken to reduce extinction risks. We compared genetic diversity and quantified variation at microsatellite loci sampled from 230 individuals from the wild populations at Laysan (1999 to 2009) and Midway (2007 to 2010; n = 133 Laysan, n = 96 Midway birds). We identified polymorphic markers by screening nuclear microsatellites (N = 83). Low nuclear variation was detected, consistent with the species' insular isolation and historical bottleneck. Six of 83 microsatellites were polymorphic. We found limited but similar estimates of allelic richness (2.58 alleles per locus) and heterozygosity within populations. However, 2 rare alleles found in the Laysan source population were not present in Midway's reintroduced population, and a unique allele was discovered in an individual on Midway. Differentiation between island populations was low (F ST = 0.6%), but statistically significant. Our results indicate that genetic drift had little effect on offspring generations 3 to 6 yr postrelease and demonstrate the utility of using known founder events to help quantify genetic capture during translocations and to inform management decisions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Microsatellite variation and rare alleles in a bottlenecked Hawaiian Islands endemic: implications for reintroductions

Reynolds

Pearce²,

Lavretsky³

et al. 2015

Endang. Species. Res.

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“…Such apparent Allee effects could dissipate as cubs born at TRC grow older and reach maturity and as more males immigrate to the TRC. Other researchers have documented low initial growth rates of reintroduced bear populations that dramatically increased in subsequent years (Eastridge and Clark , Murphy et al ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Demographic rates and population viability of black bears in Louisiana

Laufenberg

Clark

Hooker

et al. 2016

Wildlife Monographs

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The Louisiana black bear (Ursus americanus luteolus) was reduced to a few small, fragmented, and isolated subpopulations in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley by the mid‐twentieth century resulting from loss and fragmentation of habitat. In 1992, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) granted the Louisiana black bear threatened status under the United States Endangered Species Act of 1973. Since that time, a recovery plan was developed, a reintroduced population was established, and habitat recovery has occurred. The Recovery Plan states that a minimum of 2 populations must be viable (i.e., persistence probabilities over 100 years >0.95), 1 in the Tensas River Basin and 1 in the Atchafalaya River Basin. Consequently, our objectives were to 1) estimate demographic rates of Louisiana black bear subpopulations, 2) develop data‐driven stochastic population projection models, and 3) determine how different projection model assumptions affect population trajectories and predictions about long‐term persistence. Our overall goal was to assess long‐term persistence of the bear subpopulations in Louisiana, individually and as a whole. We collected data using varying combinations of non‐invasive DNA sampling, live capture, winter den visits, and radio monitoring from 2002 to 2012 in the 4 areas currently supporting breeding subpopulations in Louisiana: Tensas River Basin (TRB), Upper Atchafalaya River Basin (UARB), Lower Atchafalaya River Basin (LARB), and a recently reintroduced population at the Three Rivers Complex (TRC). From 2002 to 2012, we radio monitored fates of 86 adult females within the TRB and 43 in the TRC. Mean estimates of annual adult survival for the TRB and TRC were 0.997 and 0.990, respectively, when unknown fates were assumed alive and 0.970 and 0.926 when unknown fates were assumed dead. From 2003 to 2013, we observed 130 cub litters from 74 females in the TRB, and 74 cub litters from 45 females in the TRC. During the same period, we observed 43 yearling litters for 33 females in the TRB and 21 yearling litters for 19 females in the TRC. The estimated number of cubs and number of yearlings produced per breeding adult female was 0.47 and 0.20, respectively, in the TRB and 0.32 and 0.18 in the TRC. On the basis of matrix projection models, asymptotic growth rates ranged from 1.053 to 1.078 for the TRB and from 1.005 to 1.062 for the TRC, depending on how we treated unresolved fates of adult females. Persistence probabilities estimated from stochastic population models based on telemetry data ranged from 0.997 to 0.998 for the TRC subpopulation depending on model assumptions and were >0.999 for the TRB regardless of model assumptions. We extracted DNA from hair collected at baited, barbed‐wire enclosures in the TRB, UARB, and LARB to determine individual identities for capture‐mark‐recapture (CMR) analysis. We used those detection histories to estimate apparent survival (φ), per‐capita recruitment (f), abundance (N), realized growth rate (λ), and long‐term viability, based on Baye...

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“…Previous research efforts, such as reintroduction of black bears [15] [16], historic perspectives in managing black bears [12], black bear population estimation [17], and presentations to visitors regarding black bear management have provided a foundation to managerial decision-making. While these efforts have much merit, few focused on assessing residents' perceptions and attitudes toward black bear management in Kentucky [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resident Perceptions of Black Bear Management in South Central Kentucky

Liu¹,

Bradley²,

Wu³

et al. 2019

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The growth and sprawl of the American black bear (Ursus americanus) population have been observed and monitored in the past two decades, especially in south-central Kentucky. To better manage human-black bear interaction and develop informed policy and best practices, the current study sought to 1) understand south-central Kentucky residents' current knowledge of and previous experience with black bears, 2) investigate residents' attitudes toward black bears and regulated hunting in wildlife management; and 3) identify residents' level of acceptance of various black bear related management actions in south-central Kentucky. From February to April 2017, residents of London and Stearns districts (southeastern regions) of the Daniel Boone National Forest, a black bear habitat, were invited to participate in this study. The results from 139 completed surveys showed that residents lacked sufficient knowledge about black bear populations in the region and received minimal information regarding black bear management efforts. In comparison to education efforts and relocation, regulated black bear hunting could be a cost-effective option to promote responsible use of wildlife resources and black bear population control. This study provided lessons and recommendations for black bear management in south-central Kentucky and may be of utilization for any other wildlife conservation areas.

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Rapid growth and genetic diversity retention in an isolated reintroduced black bear population in the central appalachians

Cited by 53 publications

References 83 publications

Microsatellite variation and rare alleles in a bottlenecked Hawaiian Islands endemic: implications for reintroductions

Microsatellite variation and rare alleles in a bottlenecked Hawaiian Islands endemic: implications for reintroductions

Demographic rates and population viability of black bears in Louisiana

Resident Perceptions of Black Bear Management in South Central Kentucky

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