Plains bison genetic data and genetic locus panel selection algorithm for monitoring conservation herds

We developed and report a microsatellite data set composed of 52 microsatellite loci for 2305 individuals from 20 bison conservation herds (17 US federal, 1 tribal, 2 Canadian) and a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data set composed of 5013 biallic loci for 376 individuals from 16 bison conservation herds that were used as part of a broader study. We also developed an algorithm to select a subset of SNPs that captures the genetic variation present in the full SNP data set. Human expansion is a major driver of both declining wildlife species abundance and the contraction of species’ distributions, increasing the risk of genetic erosion and the need for genetic monitoring. Rapidly advancing technology has expanded the types of genetic data that are available for wildlife conservation. However, the use of different genetic markers could result in different management decisions and, thus, must be considered carefully. Rebounding from near extinction in the early 1900s, the majority of plains bison (Bison bison bison) are managed as small and isolated herds. Microsatellite-based analyses are currently used to inform management of the US federal bison conservation herds. Transitioning from monitoring with tens of multiallelic loci (e.g., microsatellite loci) to thousands of biallelic loci (e.g., SNP loci) could increase genotyping efficiency and improve the precision of population genetic inference but would require an understanding of the inferential differences between genetic marker types.