9424544 Groves This project will investigate genetic factors associated with the potential of a species to adapt and survive while inhabiting an unpredictable environment that may be altered by climatic change or human activity. The project will address the following questions: (1) is there detectable genetic diversity between populations affected by known bottlenecks and barriers to dispersal? (2) is genetic diversity sufficient to establish relationships between populations and explain historic patterns of dispersal across their range? (3) can genetic variability be used to establish relationships of individuals within populations and to assess the differential roles of the sexes in pioneering new ranges or recolonizing old ones? (4) what are the predicted patterns of gene flow between populations that have fluctuated as a result of climatic change or human intervention and may be isolated by geographic barriers? Using the muskox as a model, the answers to these questions should increase understanding of the population dynamics of a species that is sometimes constrained from dispersal by climate, human activity and geographic barriers and has apparently adapted to survive genetic bottlenecks caused by these constraints and population fluctuations. As disturbances to the environment are likely to become more significant with predicted global climate change and increasing human presence on the earth, the ability to predict species' responses to change is becoming more important if efforts are to be made to ensure their survival. The known history of fluctuations of indigenous populations as well as documented increases of introduced populations make the muskox an appropriate subject for an investigation of the influence of genetic, climatic, geographic, and human factors on the population dynamics of a widely distributed arctic mammal. Ecological and evolutionary principles described in this study should be applicable to other arctic species. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA has been unsatisfactory in detecting enough genetic diversity to establish relationships within and between muskox populations (Groves, in prep). Three regions of nuclear DNA will be analyzed for their potential to address the project goals. These areas include: hypervariable microsatellites, exonintron regions and Y chromosome linked regions. Results from the planning grant research using archived muskox tissue samples will be used to plan a larger study of muskox population dynamics, biogeography and evolution throughout their range. The number and type of samples required from different populations will be established so that the most economical and efficient approach to collecting samples can be arranged.
