Data from: An isolated white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) population on St. John, US Virgin Islands shows low inbreeding and comparable heterozygosity to other larger populations

This is the first study to document the genetic diversity of the white-tailed deer population on St. John, US Virgin Islands. The island population was founded by a small number of animals, has very limited hunting or predation, and recently experienced a reduction in size following an extended drought in 2015. DNA samples were collected from hair from 23 anesthetized adult deer (13 males, 10 females) ranging in age from 1-8 years (3.36+ 1.9 yr) and also from fecal DNA samples, for a total of 42 individuals analyzed for genetic diversity. The St. John deer data set averaged 4.19 alleles per marker and demonstrates the second lowest number of alleles (A) when compared to other populations of Odocoileus virginianus (4.19). Heterozygosity was similar to the other studies (0.54) with little evidence of inbreeding. To explain the level of heterogygosity and lack of inbreeding within the St. John population, three hypotheses are proposed, including the effect of intrinsic biological traits within the population, a recent infusion of highly heterogeneous loci from North American populations, and a consistent level of immigration from a nearby island. Additional work is needed to further understand the genetic history of the St. John and regional deer populations.

本研究为首个记录美属维尔京群岛圣约翰岛白尾鹿（white-tailed deer）种群遗传多样性的相关研究。该岛屿种群由少量奠基个体建立，狩猎与捕食压力均极低，并在2015年持续干旱后出现种群规模缩减。研究人员从23只麻醉成年白尾鹿（其中雄性13只、雌性10只，年龄跨度1至8年，平均年龄3.36±1.9年）的毛发中采集DNA样本，同时收集粪便DNA样本，最终共计42个个体被用于遗传多样性分析。圣约翰岛白尾鹿数据集的每个分子标记位点平均包含4.19个等位基因，在已研究的弗吉尼亚鹿（Odocoileus virginianus）种群中，其等位基因数量（A）位列倒数第二，均值为4.19。其杂合度水平与其他同类研究结果相近（均值为0.54），未发现明显的近交迹象。为解释圣约翰岛种群的杂合度水平与无明显近交的现象，本研究提出三项假说：种群自身内在生物学特性的影响、近期北美种群高异质性基因座的基因流入，以及来自邻近岛屿持续稳定的种群迁入。未来仍需开展更多研究，以进一步阐明圣约翰岛及区域鹿类种群的遗传演化历史。