Identification of Novel Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) in Deer (Odocoileus spp.) Using the BovineSNP50 BeadChip

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are growing in popularity as a genetic marker for investigating evolutionary processes. A panel of SNPs is often developed by comparing large quantities of DNA sequence data across multiple individuals to identify polymorphic sites. For non-model species, this is particularly difficult, as performing the necessary large-scale genomic sequencing often exceeds the resources available for the project. In this study, we trial the Bovine SNP50 BeadChip developed in cattle (Bos taurus) for identifying polymorphic SNPs in cervids Odocoileus hemionus (mule deer and black-tailed deer) and O. virginianus (white-tailed deer) in the Pacific Northwest. We found that 38.7% of loci could be genotyped, of which 5% (n = 1068) were polymorphic. Of these 1068 polymorphic SNPs, a mixture of putatively neutral loci (n = 878) and loci under selection (n = 190) were identified with the FST-outlier method. A range of population genetic analyses were implemented using these SNPs and a panel of 10 microsatellite loci. The three types of deer could readily be distinguished with both the SNP and microsatellite datasets. This study demonstrates that commercially developed SNP chips are a viable means of SNP discovery for non-model organisms, even when used between very distantly related species (the Bovidae and Cervidae families diverged some 25.1−30.1 million years before present)

Forage Selection Comparisons for Mule Deer and Cattle under Managed Ponderosa Pine

Cattle and mule deer competed very little for forage on a central Colorado ponderosa pine-bunchgrass range during the spring-summer-fall grazing season. Species they selected for the bulk of their diets were quite different. Diets overlapped most for fringed sagebrush and sunsedge. Fringed sagebrush was used heavily by both deer and cattle in April-May. Sunsedge was consumed in small amounts by both animals throughout most of the grazing season. Management of the timber stand increased forage for both types of animals. Also, timber stand improvement practices resulted in short-term availability of dried pine needles, a preferred deer food.This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries.The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform August 202

Forage Diversity and Dietary Selection by Wintering Mule Deer

During a 30-day grazing trial, six mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus) at pasture altered their food selection significantly as availability of forage changed. At the beginning of the trial when forbs and grasses were abundant, they comprised better than 50% of the diet; but by the end of the trial when these preferred forages were less abundant, grass and forb declined. Shrub use increased and forb and grass use decreased as snow depths increased. Results support the conjecture that big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata wyomingensis) in excess of 30% in the diet is detrimental to mule deer nutritional health.This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries.The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform August 202

Effect of Woody Stems on Estimating Herbage Weights with a Capacitance Meter

Ignoring woody stems significantly improved capacitance-meter estimates of herbage weight.This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries.The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform August 202