Fine-scale
genetic structure and social organization
in female white-tailed deer
CHRISTOPHER E. COMER,a JOHN C. KILGO,b GINO J. D'ANGELO,c
TRAVIS C. GLENN,d and KARL V. MILLERe
aD. B. Warnell School of Forest Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
bUSDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, P.O. Box 700, New Ellenton, SC 29809, USA
cD. B. Warnell School of Forest Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
dSavannah River Ecology Laboratory, Drawer E, Aiken, SC 29802, USA, and Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
eD.
B. Warnell School of Forest Resources, University of Georgia, Athens,
GA 30602, USA
ABSTRACT
Social behavior of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
can have important management implications. The formation of matrilineal
social groups among female deer has been documented and management strategies
have been proposed based on this well-developed social structure. Using
radiocollared (n = 17) and hunter or vehicle-killed (n = 21) does, we
examined spatial and genetic structure in white-tailed deer on a 7,000-ha
portion of the Savannah River Site in the upper Coastal Plain of South
Carolina, USA. We used 14 microsatellite DNA loci to calculate pairwise
relatedness among individual deer and to assign doe pairs to putative
relationship categories. Linear distance and genetic relatedness were
weakly correlated (r = -0.08, P = 0.058). Relationship categories differed
in mean spatial distance, but only 60% of first-degree-related doe pairs
(full sibling or mother–offspring pairs) and 38% of second-degree-related
doe pairs (half sibling, grandmother–granddaughter pairs) were members
of the same social group based on spatial association. Heavy hunting pressure
in this population has created a young age structure among does, where
the average age is < 2.5 years, and < 4% of does are > 4.5 years
old. This—combined with potentially elevated dispersal among young
does—could limit the formation of persistent, cohesive social groups.
Our results question the universal applicability of recently proposed
models of spatial and genetic structuring in white-tailed deer, particularly
in areas with differing harvest histories.
Keywords
Genetics, home range, microsatellites, Odocoileus virginianus,
radiotelemetry, relatedness, rose-petal hypothesis, Savannah River Site,
South Carolina, white-tailed deer.
SREL
Reprint #2886
Comer, C. E., J. C. Kilgo, G. J. D'Angelo, T. C. Glenn and K. V. Miller. 2005. Fine-scale genetic structure and social organization in female white-tailed deer. Journal of Wildlife Management 69:332-344.
