MONITORING POLAR BEAR GENETICS IN ALASKA”

Project ID: F24AC01757

Federal Agency: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Partner Institution: University of Idaho

Fiscal Year: 2024

Initial Funding: $50,250

Total Funding: $50,250

Principal Investigator: Waits, Lisette

Agreement Technical Representative: Martonick, Sarah

Abstract: THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO FACILITATE GENETIC AND GENOMIC MONITORING OF ALASKAS POLAR BEARS. THE OBJECTIVES INCLUDE: 1) CONDUCTING INDIVIDUAL IDENTIFICATION BY MICROSATELLITE GENOTYPING 2) VALIDATING A POLAR BEAR QPCR NUCLEAR DNA TEST AND SNP PANEL FOR POLAR BEARS IN ALASKA 3) GENOTYPING CURRENT AND HISTORICAL POLAR BEAR BLOOD SAMPLES FOR INDIVIDUAL IDENTIFICATION WITH SNPS 4) ASSESSING THE PERFORMANCE OF THE QPCR NUCLEAR DNA TEST AND SNP PANEL ON NONINVASIVELY COLLECTED DNA SAMPLES (I.E., SCAT, SALIVA) AND 5) DETERMINING CURRENT POPULATION STRUCTURE WITHIN AND BETWEEN CS AND SBS POLAR BEAR SUBPOPULATIONS. GENETIC SAMPLES WILL BE COLLECTED THROUGH A COMBINATION OF NONINVASIVE SAMPLING (E.G., SALIVA, SCAT), HARVEST SAMPLING (E.G., TISSUE), PHYSICAL CAPTURE (E.G., BLOOD AND TISSUE), AND BIOPSY DARTING (TISSUE). GENETIC MONITORING CAN PROVIDE A WAY TO MONITOR TRAJECTORIES OF BOTH INDIVIDUAL AND POPULATION-LEVEL METRICS INCLUDING DEMOGRAPHIC METRICS SUCH AS ABUNDANCE, SURVIVAL, AND REPRODUCTION GENETIC METRICS SUCH AS EFFECTIVE POPULATION SIZE, GENETIC STRUCTURE, AND DIVERSITY AND IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND HARVEST. IMPLEMENTING A ROBUST GENETIC MONITORING PROGRAM WILL IMPROVE KNOWLEDGE OF THE HEALTH AND DEMOGRAPHY OF POLAR BEARS IN ALASKA AND HELP US FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE MEET OBJECTIVES PERTAINING