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

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. The shapefile below 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). These data support the following publicaton; Mitelberg, A. & Vandergast, A.G. (2016) Non-invasive genetic sampling of Southern Mule Deer ( Odocoileus hemionus fuliginatus) reveals limited movement across California State Route 67 in San Diego County. Western Wildlife, 3, 8-18.
References: Bohonak, A., Mitelberg, A. 2014. Social Structure and Genetic Connectivity in the Southern Mule Deer: Implications for Management. San Diego State University. San Diego: Report Prepared for California Department of Fish and Game.