Genetic Variation in a Population of Black Bears as Revealed by DNA Fingerprinting

Abstract

Analyses of DNA-fingerprint data of black bears (Ursus americanus), using an alkaline-phosphatase labeled, multilocus probe, revealed moderate to high levels of genetic similarity of individuals within a population in the Chapleau Crown Game Preserve in northern Ontario. Band-sharing coefficients were calculated between pairs of adult males (0.55 ± 0.02, n = 30), adult females (0.60 ± 0.04, n = 30), adult males and females (0.56 ± 0.04, n = 30), and known first-order relationships (0.82 ± 0.02, n = 12). A preliminary examination of band-sharing coefficients of bears from across Ontario revealed lower similarity levels (0.26 ± 0.04, n = 75). These values were similar to background band-sharing coefficients in natural avian and other mammalian populations.