Micheline Manseau, PhD

Parks Canada

&

Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba

www.lecol-ck.ca

Non-invasive genetic methods to study wildlife

populations – new possibilities

Information required to support wildlife management …

Wildlife conservation

Methods?

• Species distribution

• Population boundaries

• Population size and trend

• Impact of land use activities

• Historical perspectives

DNA extraction & marker amplification, hormones analysis

Ball, Pither, Manseau, Petersen, Clark, Morrill and Wilson. 2007. Conservation Genetic. 8: 577-586

Nuclear DNA (microsatellite)

Mitochondrial DNA

Gender marker

Hormones and isotopes analysis

Cullingham, Curteanu, Ball , Manseau and Wilson. 2010. Journal of Wildlife Management. 74: 849-859

Morden et al. 2011. Journal of Wildlife Management . 75:1426–1435.

Genetic, hormones and isotopes analysis

Species identification and distribution, biodiversity, diet analysis

Molecular Ecology - Special Issue – Environmental DNA

Volume 21, April 2012

Banfield. 1961. National Museum of Canada Bulletin.

Weckworth, Musiani, McDevitt, Hebblewhite and Mariani. 2012. Molecular Ecology. Early View.

Klutsch, Manseau and Wilson. 2012. Proceedings of the Royal Society B (submittted).

Species and subspecies characterization, conservation units

Population genetic structure and characteristics

Polfus, Galpern, Manseau and Wilson. 2012. Joint Congress on Evolutionary Biology.

Population genetic structure and characteristics

Ball, Fennigan, Manseau and Wilson. 2010. Conservation Genetics. 11:2131–2143

Amount and directionality of animal movement between populations

Ball, Fennigan, Manseau and Wilson. 2010. Conservation Genetics. 11:2131–2143.

Frequency-based assignment tests

Thompson, Manseau and Wilson. 2012. Global Change (in prep.)

Current and historical gene flow, historical ecology

Petersen, Manseau and Wilson. 2010. Journal of Mammalogy. 91: 698-711.

Population size, trend, individual fitness, sociogenetic

Kendall et al. USGS Glacier Field Station, Montana

Population size, trend, individual fitness, sociogenetic

Scoring genetic profiles

Galpern, Manseau, Hettinga, Wilson and Smith. 2011. Molecular Ecology Resources. 12: 771–778.

Finding unique genotypes and replicates - Allelematch

Galpern, Manseau, Hettinga, Wilson and Smith. 2011. Molecular Ecology Resources. 12: 771–778.

Population parameters

Individual genotypes - markers • Population sizes

• Population trends

• Survival rate

• Pregnancy rate (hormones)

• Sex ratio

Individual genotypes – alleles • Genetic diversity, inbreeding coefficient

• Effective population sizes

• Individual-based analysis, spatial autocorrelation

in measures of relatedness

• Pedigrees, fine-scale social organization,

sociogenetic

• Mitochondrial DNA, Y-chromosome

Capture Mark Recapture

Closed and Open Population Models

Estimates of survival (Φ), population growth trend (λ) and recruitment

derived from sampling intervals over long timeframe. Can be gender

specific.

Used to estimate population rate of change

Hettinga , Arnason, Manseau, Cross, Whaley and Wilson. 2011. Journal of Wildlife Management. DOI:

10.1002/jwmg.380.

North Interlake herd

Population parameters Sex ratio 60F:40M 2005-2010

Population estimates – CMR models

2007 : 98 (lower), 41 (upper)

2008 : 79 (lower), 32 (upper)

2009 : 73 (lower), 31 (upper)

Survival rates: 75% (F), 65% (M)

Lambda (5 years): 0.83 (0.07) (F), 0.95 (0.06) (M)

Pregnancy rate: 85%

Expected heterozigozity: 0.63 (lower), 0.69 (upper)

Inbreeding coefficient: 0.05 (lower), 0.07 (upper)

Genetic cluster: small geographical area

Population assignment: 100% (lower), 96% (upper)

Gene flow: limited and northward

Historical gene flow: significant and bidirectional

Haplotypes: 9

Haplogroup origin: south of the Laurentian ice sheet

Hettinga , Arnason, Manseau, Cross, Whaley and Wilson. 2011. Journal of Wildlife Management. DOI:

10.1002/jwmg.380.

Ball, Fennigan, Manseau and Wilson. 2010. Conservation Genetics. 11:2131–2143.

If animals are not

moving freely and

mixing their genes…

individuals in the same

habitat cluster should be

more closely related than

individuals in separate

clusters

Galpern, Manseau and Fall. 2011.

Biological Conservation. 144:44-55

Galpern, Manseau and Wilson. 2012.

Molecular Ecology. Early View.

Landscape genetic

A

collaborative

research

framework

that could

involve

citizens.

… new methods to better understand the species’ biology and

ecology at different spatial and temporal scales.

- non-invasive method

- large sample size

- longer time frame, both genders

- a marker and a source of information

Collaborators & Contributors Paul Wilson, Paul Galpern, Corneylia Klutsch, Jean Polfus, Laura Thompson, Peter Hettinga,

Laura Fennigan, Marina Kerr, Karen Smith, Mark Bradley, Leyla Neufeld, Saakje Kazenburg,

Maria Arlt, Casidhe Dyke, Sones Keobouasone, Dan Frandsen, Tim Trottier, Al Arsenault, Fiona

Moreland, Brad Tokaruk, Ed Kewal, Mark Ball, Andrew Fall, Marie-Josée Fortin, Dan O’Brien,

Jeff Clark, Stephen Petersen, Richard Pither, Jennifer Keeney, Glen Brown, Kent Whaley, Dale

Cross, Vicki Trim, Daryll Hedman, Fiona Scurrah

Project funded by CRD-NSERC, Strategic NSERC, Parks Canada (Jasper, Banff, Prince Albert, Grasslands, Wood

Buffalo, Quttinirpaaq,Wapusk National Parks), Endangered Species at Risk Funds, Sask

Environment, Prince Albert Model Forest, Nunavut Government, Weyerhaeuser, Manitoba

Conservation, Manitoba Hydro, Habitat Stewardship Program, NSERC, GEOIDE Centre of

Excellence, Trent University, University of Manitoba