7842

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 7842
• Author: Knopf, F. L.
• Title: Biological Diversity in Wildlife Management.
• USFW Year: 1992.
• USFW - Doc Type: 1992.
• Copyright Material: NO

0.1 o Peromyscus polionotus
H=0.25-O.O06L r2 =0.53
0.09
0.08
O
0) 0.07
N
O
4j 0.06
d
2
0.05
U
O
0.04
0.03
Latitude (L)
Figure 4. Expected multilocus heterozygosities of 24 southeastern populations of the old-field mouse
(calculated from allele frequencies of Selander et al. 1971) plotted against latitude of collection for
each population. The linear relationship between the variables and coefficient of determination (r2)
are given.
heterozygosity may be a function of selective pressures associated with a latitudinal
environmental gradient (Bryant 1974), the probability and direction of gene flow,
and genetic drift. Because some old-field mouse populations have more than three
times the amount of genetic diversity than others (Figure 4), they have different
potentials for management and evolution. For example, high diversity populations
could be used as a stocking source into populations which have lost their genetic
diversity. Local differentiation in the amount of genetic diversity within populations
occurs in many wildlife species, including the white-tailed deer (Smith et al. 1984)
and the wild turkey (Meleagris gallapavo) (Leberg 1991). The levels of genetic
diversity in the old-field mouse also are positively correlated with reproductive rate
and density, characteristics of prime importance in any wildlife management program,
which may suggest a functional significance for the varying levels of genetic diversity
(Smith et al. 1975). Populations that have diverged in their genetic characteristics
serve as potential sources of genetic information and their uniqueness needs to be
considered in management programs.
Genetic diversity of species is preserved both within and among populations.
However, when the numbers of population units or individuals within those units
decrease, loss of genetic diversity at the population and individual levels can be
accelerated. When population sizes decrease, inbreeding and genetic drift can reduce
the genetic diversity within individuals and populations (Crow and Kimura 1970,
248 ? Trans. 57' N. A. Wildl. & Nat. Res. Conf. (1992)
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