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Article
Sex-specific effects of capital resources on reproductive timing and success in red squirrels
Reproduction is an energetically expensive activity for both sexes. However, if males and females differ in their annual timing of reproduction, such that peak investment for one sex occurs during a more resou...
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Article
Traceability of provenance-collected lodgepole pine in a reforestation chain of custody case study
Millions of lodgepole pine seedlings are planted each year to replace losses due to harvest or large-scale natural disturbances such as fires and forest pests. In Canada, replacement seeds and seedlings used f...
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Article
Measuring fitness and inferring natural selection from long-term field studies: different measures lead to nuanced conclusions
Measuring individual reproductive success in the wild is often achieved by counting the number of descendants produced by individuals. In seeking to understand how reproductive success can inform us about natu...
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Article
Open AccessWhole-genome sequence analysis unveils different origins of European and Asiatic mouflon and domestication-related genes in sheep
The domestication and subsequent development of sheep are crucial events in the history of human civilization and the agricultural revolution. However, the impact of interspecific introgression on the genomic ...
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Article
Genetic association with boldness and maternal performance in a free-ranging population of grey seals (Halichoerus grypus)
Individual variation in quantitative traits clearly influence many ecological and evolutionary processes. Moderate to high heritability estimates of personality and life-history traits suggest some level of ge...
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Article
Open AccessWhole-genome resequencing of wild and domestic sheep identifies genes associated with morphological and agronomic traits
Understanding the genetic changes underlying phenotypic variation in sheep (Ovis aries) may facilitate our efforts towards further improvement. Here, we report the deep resequencing of 248 sheep including the wil...
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Article
Management implications of highly resolved hierarchical population genetic structure in thinhorn sheep
Patterns of genetic variation of a species can be shaped by events that occur at wide temporal and geographic scales. Geophysical processes, such as continental glaciations, can affect species vicariance at wi...
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Article
Repeatability and reproductive consequences of boldness in female gray seals
Wild animals show consistent individual variation in behavior across time and/or contexts, now referred to as animal personality. While this variability may have important ecological and evolutionary implicati...
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Article
Open AccessWill human influences on evolutionary dynamics in the wild pervade the Anthropocene?
The five most pervasive anthropogenic threats to biodiversity are over-exploitation, habitat changes, climate change, invasive species, and pollution. Since all of these threats can affect intraspecific biodiv...
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Article
Open AccessSeasonal, spatial, and maternal effects on gut microbiome in wild red squirrels
Our understanding of gut microbiota has been limited primarily to findings from human and laboratory animals, but what shapes the gut microbiota in nature remains largely unknown. To fill this gap, we conducte...
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Article
Evidence of adoption, monozygotic twinning, and low inbreeding rates in a large genetic pedigree of polar bears
Multigenerational pedigrees have been developed for free-ranging populations of many species, are frequently used to describe mating systems, and are used in studies of quantitative genetics. Here, we document...
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Article
Open AccessHarnessing cross-species alignment to discover SNPs and generate a draft genome sequence of a bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis)
Whole genome sequences (WGS) have proliferated as sequencing technology continues to improve and costs decline. While many WGS of model or domestic organisms have been produced, a growing number of non-model s...
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Article
Development of eight microsatellite loci from the endangered huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus) and cross-species amplification in six other ungulate species
We developed eight polymorphic microsatellite loci for the huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus) and tested for cross-species amplification in six other ungulate species. Microsatellite loci were typed in 58 individuals...
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Article
Deciphering translocations from relicts in Baranof Island mountain goats: is an endemic genetic lineage at risk?
Human-mediated movement of wildlife is a common practice in North America. Some translocations have occurred where local populations were thought to be extinct or simply not present. In Alaska’s Alexander Arch...
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Article
Population structure and genetic diversity of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in fragmented landscapes at the northern edge of their range
Range-edge dynamics and anthropogenic fragmentation are expected to impact patterns of genetic diversity, and understanding the influence of both factors is important for effective conservation of threatened w...
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Article
Male reproductive tactics to increase paternity in the polygynandrous Columbian ground squirrel (Urocitellus columbianus)
In polyandrous and polygynandrous species where females mate with multiple partners, males are expected to maximize their fitness by exhibiting an array of reproductive behaviors to ensure fertilization succes...
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Article
Past bottlenecks and current population fragmentation of endangered huemul deer (Hippocamelus bisulcus): implications for preservation of genetic diversity
Small populations in fragmented habitats can lose genetic variation through drift and inbreeding. The huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus) is an endangered deer endemic to the southern Andes of Chile and Argentina. Hue...
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Article
Open AccessGenetic linkage map of a wild genome: genomic structure, recombination and sexual dimorphism in bighorn sheep
The construction of genetic linkage maps in free-living populations is a promising tool for the study of evolution. However, such maps are rare because it is difficult to develop both wild pedigrees and corres...
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Article
Adopting kin enhances inclusive fitness in asocial red squirrels
Orphaned animals benefit from being adopted, but it is unclear why an adopting parent should incur the costs of rearing extra young. Such altruistic parental behaviour could be favoured if it is directed towar...
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Article
Low MHC DRB class II diversity in the mountain goat: past bottlenecks and possible role of pathogens and parasites
Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes are the most polymorphic in vertebrates and code for molecules playing a central role in pathogen resistance. We studied levels of MHC DRB class II diversity in a long...
