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Integrating ecological and genetic structure to define management units for caribou in Eastern Canada

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Abstract

Genetic diversity is a key parameter to delineate management units, but many organisms also display ecological characteristics that may reflect potential local adaptations. Here, we used ecological and genetic information to delineate management units for a complex system involving several ecotypes of caribou (Rangifer tarandus) from Québec and Labrador, eastern Canada. We genotyped 560 caribou at 16 microsatellite loci and used three Bayesian clustering methods to spatially delineate and characterize genetic structure across the landscape. The different approaches employed did not converge on the same solution, and differed in the number of inferred genetic clusters that best fit the dataset but also in the spatial distribution of genetic variation. We reconciled variability among the methods using a synthetic approach that considers the sum of the partitions obtained by each of them and retrieved six genetically distinct groups that differ in their spatial extent across the range of caribou in the study area. These genetic groups are not consistent with the presently defined ecological designations for this species. Combining both genetic and ecological criteria, we distinguished eight independent management units. Overall, the management units we propose should be the focus of conservation and management actions aimed to maximize genetic and ecological diversity and ensure the persistence of caribou populations inhabiting increasingly disturbed landscapes.

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Acknowledgments

We thank B. Baillargeon, L. Breton, V. Brodeur, S. Couturier, S. Crowley, C. Dussault, D. Elliott, D. Fortin, S. Gravel, D. Grenier, L. Jourdain, C. Jutras, R. Lemieux, M. Paré, and S. Rivard for help with data gathering. Caribou Ungava is funded by ArcticNet, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Hydro-Québec, Glen Core-Mine Raglan, Fédération des Pourvoiries du Québec, CircumArctic Rangifer Monitoring & Assessment network (CARMA), Ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement, de la Faune et des Parcs, Labrador and Newfoundland Wildlife Division, Makivik Corporation, Fédération québécoise des chasseurs et pêcheurs, Fondation de la Faune du Québec, Canadian Wildlife Federation, Fonds Vert Québec, Institute for Environmental Monitoring and Research and Canadian Foundation for Innovation. We are grateful to C. Hins, S. de Bellefeuille, and G. Côté for technical support and M. Le Corre for his work on the maps. Comments and suggestions by M. Cronin, M. Festa-Bianchet, B. Weckworth and anonymous reviewers improved the quality of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département de Biologie & Centre d’Études Nordiques, Université Laval, 1045 avenue de la Médecine, Quebec, G1V 0A6, Canada

    Glenn Yannic, Joaquin Ortego & Steeve D. Côté

  2. Département de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie, Centre d’études Nordiques & Centre d’étude de la Forêt, Université du Québec à Rimouski, 300 Allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, QC, G5L 3A1, Canada

    Glenn Yannic & Martin-Hugues St-Laurent

  3. Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics Group, Department of Integrative Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Avda. Américo Vespucio s/n, 41092, Seville, Spain

    Joaquin Ortego

  4. Direction de la faune terrestre et de l’avifaune, Ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement, de la Faune et des Parcs du Québec, 880 chemin Sainte-Foy, Quebec, QC, G1S 4X4, Canada

    Joëlle Taillon & Christian Dussault

  5. Hydro-Québec Équipement et Services Partagés, 855, rue Sainte-Catherine Est, 11e étage, Montreal, QC, H2L 4P5, Canada

    Alexandre Beauchemin

  6. Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes (IBIS), Université Laval, Pavillon Charles-Eugène-Marchand, Quebec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada

    Louis Bernatchez

  7. LECA - Laboratoire d’Ecologie Alpine, UMR CNRS 5553, Université de Savoie Mont-Blanc, 73376, Le Bourget-du-Lac, France

    Glenn Yannic

Authors
  1. Glenn Yannic
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  2. Martin-Hugues St-Laurent
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  3. Joaquin Ortego
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  4. Joëlle Taillon
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  5. Alexandre Beauchemin
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  6. Louis Bernatchez
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  7. Christian Dussault
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  8. Steeve D. Côté
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Glenn Yannic.

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Yannic, G., St-Laurent, MH., Ortego, J. et al. Integrating ecological and genetic structure to define management units for caribou in Eastern Canada. Conserv Genet 17, 437–453 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-015-0795-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-015-0795-0

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