Population genetics of caribou in the Brightsand range of Ontario

Abstract

Boreal woodland caribou are listed as threatened in Ontario. This thesis examined whether the genetic diversity of boreal woodland caribou in the Brightsand Range differs comparing populations in portions of the range with contrasting levels of disturbance. The GenAlex software was used to run three Analysis of Molecular Variances that showed that there was no significant difference in allele frequencies of the populations of caribou in the Brightsand range, but that the genetic diversity was lower in southern populations with more cutting of trees and road access causing fragmentation of the habitat. The lack of difference may be due to gene flow that is high enough to prevent loss of genetic diversity in the southern portion of the range.