Home > Research > Gunnison Sage-Grouse
POPULATION DIFFERENTIATION - Gunnison Sage-Grouse
Funding Partners:
Colorado Division of Wildlife, US Fish and Wildlife Service
Related Publications:
Oyler-McCance SJ, St John J, Taylor SE, Apa AD, Quinn TW. 2005.
Population genetics of Gunnison sage-grouse: implications for
management. Journal of Wildlife Management 69(2): 630–637.
Young, J. R., C. E. Braun, S. J. Oyler-McCance, J. W. Hupp,
and T. W. Quinn.
2000. A new species of sage grouse (Phasianidae: Centrocercus)
from southwestern Colorado, USA. Wilson Bulletin 112:445-453.
Oyler-McCance, S. J., N. W. Kahn, K. P. Burnham, C. E. Braun, and T. W. Quinn. 1999. A population genetic comparison of large and small-bodied sage grouse in Colorado using microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA markers. Molecular Ecology 8:1457-1466.
Kahn, N.W., C. Braun, J. Young, S. Wood, D. Mata, and T.W. Quinn. 1999. Molecular analysis of genetic variation among large- and small-bodied sage grouse using mitochondrial control-region sequences. The Auk 116: 819-824.
Summary:
The distribution and abundance of Gunnison Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus minimus) has declined dramatically due to habitat loss and fragmentation, leaving remaining populations exceedingly small and isolated. Genetic data should be one aspect that guides critical management decisions, especially where triage necessitates ranking of populations according to evolutionary potential (i.e. maximized genetic diversity) of gene pools and connectivity of populations, or where transplantation of birds from one locale to another is being considered. We are currently conducting a population-level study using nuclear microsatellites and mitochondrial DNA sequence analysis. In this study we are documenting levels of gene flow and genetic diversity across the species range.
