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DNA fingerprinting of Southern Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus fuliginatus) to determine movement across California State Route 67

February 23, 2016

The goal of this project was to primarily assess east-west connectivity across Route 67 and secondarily, north-south connectivity across Scripps Poway Parkway and Poway Road, two highly trafficked roads to the west of Route 67. We collected deer scat piles from both sides of these crossings in spring between March and June of 2015, and again in fall throughout October 2015. Collected pellets were extracted and amplified using protocols and loci developed by Bohonak and Mitelberg (2014). DNA fingerprinting results were used to investigate mule deer movement in the region directly by identifying individuals which had been captured multiple times throughout the study period. We also assessed movement indirectly through pedigree reconstruction and population structure analyses. This file contains 126 deer scat piles and the genotypes obtained at 15 microsatellite markers and one sex specific genetic marker. These represented 71 unique individual genotypes (45 females, 26 males) with 9 recapture events and 46 resampling events (defined as scat piles collected at the same location within one week of each other and matching the same unique genotype).

Publication Year 2016
Title DNA fingerprinting of Southern Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus fuliginatus) to determine movement across California State Route 67
DOI 10.5066/F7KW5D32
Authors Amy Vandergast, Anna Mitelberg
Product Type Data Release
Record Source USGS Digital Object Identifier Catalog
USGS Organization Western Ecological Research Center - Headquarters