• Krester, Heidi, Dr.
  Wildlife Conservation Society
  hkrester@wcs.org
  
• Glennon, Michale, Dr.
  Wildlife Conservation Society
  mglennon@wcs.org
  

The goal of this project was to inform future management and conservation efforts for moose in the Northeast by establishing the genetic connectivity of moose in the northeastern states and provinces and understanding re-colonization dynamics of the Adirondack moose population. Despite moose’s historic recovery in one of the most populous regions of the world, little is known about how moose use the northeastern landscape and how important connectivity might be for a population potentially founded by a few individuals with little genetic variation. We tested 293 tissue and hair tissues and 140 scat samples to look at genetic markers of moose from the Northeast to specify the relationship among regional sub-populations; we amplified DNA from 140 samples of moose scat collected using detection dogs in May 2008 to determine whether the method would be viable for calculating population estimates. We are now disseminating the results to inform future moose management and conservation efforts in the Northeast, especially in light of climate change. We found distinct genetic differences among moose from north of the St. Lawrence Seaway and south of the St. Lawrence seaway. We could also see distinctions in the Cape Breton and Nova Scotia mainland populations. Of the 140 scats from New York State, we amplified DNA from 38 samples and found 25 individuals. For NYS, scat sniffing dogs may be a viable method for assessing population if collection and DNA extraction can take place within one month. Overall, if landscape connectivity in the northeast is affecting genetic flow it could also hinder adaption to climate change. Future research should explore the northward movements of moose in the Northeast.