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Abstract:

Genetic considerations are one of the foundations of conservation biology. DNA analysis has quickly become the technique most investigators use to explore the genetics of wild populations. I used results from both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA analysis to evaluate the genetic variability of grizzly bears captured during 1994 in the Bow River Watershed, Alberta. Mitochondrial DNA analysis suggests that there is little maternal gene flow between the Eastern Slopes population and the more divergent Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem population. Evidence also suggests a recent genetic bottleneck. Analysis of nuclear DNA using the microsattelite approach has uncovered abundant genetic variation. This variation is probably mostly contributed by the adult male cohort. However, genetic diversity, measured as the level of heterozygosity, is lower than several other northern grizzly bear populations sampled to date. Results are discussed in relation to demographic, environmental, and anthropogenic pressures as they affect population viability.