Present address of SLN: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 510
Desmond Drive SE, Lacey, WA 98503.
This is the first study to document the genetic diversity of the
white-tailed deer population on St. John, US Virgin Islands. The island
population was founded by a small number of animals, has very limited
hunting or predation, and recently experienced a reduction in size
following an extended drought in 2015. DNA samples were collected from
hair from 23 anesthetized adult deer (13 males, 10 females) ranging in
age from 1-8 years (3.36+ 1.9 yr) and also from fecal DNA
samples, for a total of 42 individuals analyzed for genetic diversity.
The St. John deer data set averaged 4.19 alleles per marker and
demonstrates the second lowest number of alleles (A) when compared to
other populations of Odocoileus virginianus (4.19).
Heterozygosity was similar to the other studies (0.54) with little
evidence of inbreeding. To explain the level of heterogygosity and lack
of inbreeding within the St. John population, three hypotheses are
proposed, including the effect of intrinsic biological traits within the
population, a recent infusion of highly heterogeneous loci from North
American populations, and a consistent level of immigration from a
nearby island. Additional work is needed to further understand the
genetic history of the St. John and regional deer populations.
Key words: deer, genetics, invasive, island, Odocoileus
virginianus, St. John, white-tailed deer