Taxonomic Status and Genetic Purity of Columbian White-Tailed Deer

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Abstract
We evaluated the taxonomic status of the endangered Columbian white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus leucurus) using allozyme data from 35 electrophoretic loci. Columbian white-tailed deer and northwest white-tailed deer (O. v. ochrourus) from 5 locations in Oregon and Washington [USA] northern woodland while-tailed deer (O. v. borealis) from 1 location in New York, Columbian black-tailed deer (O. hemionus columbianus) from 3 locations, and Rocky Mountain mule deer (O. h. hemionus) from 4 locations in the Pacific Northwest were included in the analyses (n = 362). Calculation of Nei''s (1971) genetic distance (D) among these 5 taxonomic units indicated that the Douglas County, Oregon population of Columbian white-tailed deer may not be sufficiently different in allelic frequencies from northwest white-tailed deer in eastern Oregon and Washington (D = 0.003) to be categorized as a different subspecies. The genetic distance between Columbian white-tailed deer sampled on or near the Columbian White-tailed Deer National Wildlife Refuge (CWDNWR) in southwestern Washington and northwest white-tailed deer from eastern Oregon and Washington was greater (D = 0.010). However, even this genetic distance may not warrant separate subspecific status for these populations. In addition, 6 of 33 Columbian white-tailed deer sampled on or near CWDNWR possessed alleles at 2 of 3 diagnostic loci characteristic of black-tailed deer, confirming observations that hybridization between these species has led to a flow of black-tailed deer genes into this endangered subspecies.