Loss of genetic variation in Greater Prairie Chickens following a population bottleneck in wisconsin, USA

Over the last century, populations of the Greater Prairie Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido) have declined or gone extinct throughout midwestern North America. In Wisconsin the population declined by 50% from 1951 to 1961 and has remained at low (1500 individuals) but fluctuating levels for the past 40 years. We examined historic (1951) and contemporary (1996-1999) populations of prairie chickens in Wisconsin to determine whether there was a loss of genetic variation following the population bottleneck. We compared microsatellite DNA variation at six loci in historic (1951, n=47) and contemporary (1996-1999, n=87) populations. Population mean heterozygosity and number of alleles per locus were significantly lower in the late 1990s than in 1951. This loss of genetic variation following a population bottleneck is consistent with the results of a similar study in Illinois, but we found no evidence of a reduction in hatching success.