Abstract
This project will examine the spatial and temporal genetic dynamics of the Swedish moose population. It also aims at investigating means for monitoring natural and anthropogenically induced temporal genetic changes in intensely managed species, and for identifying genetic units in species with continuous distributions where obvious barriers to migration are lacking. The moose is the most intensely managed game species in Sweden; one third of the population is killed annually through hunting, and human induced mortality shapes the demographic and genetic dynamics of this species. In spite of its socio-economical and ecological importance the spatial genetic structure and recent genetic history of the moose is largely unknown, and information on the genetic effects of present management strategies is lacking. Preliminary results indicate that this highly mobile species may be unexpectedly strongly structured into local genetic patches and that regional bottlenecks affect levels of diversity. Access to a tissue bank comprising over 20,000 individual samples collected during the 1980 annual hunt provides a unique opportunity for addressing issues concerning the recent genetic history of this ecologically and socio-economically important mammal. The project will provide results of importance for the development of guidelines for monitoring gene level biodiversity in harvested populations and for identifying genetic management units for species with continuous distribution.
Sweden