We documented changes in genetic diversity in an isolated, reintroduced population of bobcats on Cumberland Island (CUIS), Georgia, USA, compared to another bobcat population on Kiawah Island, South Carolina, USA, that was naturally established and experiences limited immigration from the mainland. We compared the predictions of a novel population viability analysis (PVA) to empirical estimates of abundance and genetic diversity on CUIS and used our PVA to identify management actions that are likely to support long-term viability.

Tissue samples and scats from bobcat were collected on Cumberland Island, Georgia, USA and Kiawah Island, South Carolina, USA to obtain DNA. The DNA samples were used to investigate inbreeding, genetic diversity, immigration rates, abundance, and survival rates.

A population viability analysis was conducted using program VORTEX (version 10.0.7.0; Lacy and Pollak 2014).

Full description of methods are provided in:

Miller-Butterworth, C. M., D. R. Diefenbach, J. E. Edson, L. A. Hansen, J. D. Jordan, T. M. Gingery, and A. L. Russell. 2021. Demography and loss of genetic diversity in two insular populations of the bobcat (Lynx rufus). Global Ecology and Conservation.

Literature Cited

Lacy, R.C., and J.P. Pollak. 2020. Vortex: A stochastic simulation of the extinction process. Version 10.3.8. Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield, Illinois, USA.

1. Filename = Bobcats_KW_SC.txt

An IMa2 input file of 13 biallelic microsatellite loci from individuals from Kiawah Island, South Carolina, USA and individuals from mainland South Carolina. Allele fragment sizes were converted to numbers of repeats by designating the smallest detected fragment size as being equivalent to, arbitrarily, 10 repeats.

2. Filename = Bobcats_CUIS.txt

An IMa2 input file of 13 biallelic microsatellite loci from founder and current individuals from Cumberland Island, Georgia, USA. Allele fragment sizes were converted to numbers of repeats by designating the smallest detected fragment size as being equivalent to, arbitrarily, 10 repeats.

3. Filename = Bobcat_alleles_Dryad.txt

Fragment sizes of alleles amplified from 14 microsatellite loci. Data are presented as biallelic genotypes for each bobcat individual, at each locus. Bobcats are identified by sampling location, as follows:                                                  

FOUNDER = Founder Cumberland Island (CUIS) bobcats and first generation of kittens born on CUIS

KW = Kiawah Island bobcats

SC = South Carolina Mainland bobcats

CUIS = current population of bobcats on CUIS (sampled in 2012,2016, 2018, and 2019)

4. Filename = Bobcat.xml

This is the .xml input file for program VORTEX (version 10.0.7.9) that contains all PVA scenarios presented in Miller-Butterworth et al. (2021).

5. Filename = Founders.allelefreq_Vortex.txt

A text file contain the allele frequencies of the founder population of bobcats called by program VORTEX from the project file "Bobcat.xml"