Reevaluating the Status of the Mazama deer from Pearl Islands, Panama

Ty Christian1 and Jorge L. Pino1,2 1University of Florida; 2Florida Museum of Natural History

QUESTIONS APPROACH INTRODUCTION 1- What are the phylogenetic relationships We will use molecular data to evaluate Population of brocket deer from the between the Pearl Island brocket deer and the the relationship between the island and Pearl Islands has been historically mainland populations? mainland populations. We are targeting attributed to the species Mazama 2- When did the Pearl Island brocket deer the mitochondrial cytochrome B, the gouazoubira, a species that is present in diverge from their closest relative? control region, and the nuclear beta the central and south-east region of South fibrinogen intron 7. Divergence time will be America. M. temama represent the explored under a coalescent approach. closest mainland species which is (a) (b) distributed from south east Mexico to the b Phylogenec relaonships western slopes of the Andes in Colombia. among Mazama species.

Despite their geographic distribution, a-M. temama and b-M. morphological evidence do not support a gouazoubira. Species are closest relationship between the Pearl color coded. (Duarte et al. 2008. The surprising

Islands brocket deer and M. temama, evoluonary history of instead it sugest a closer relationship with South American deer). M. gouazoubira. An extant population of Mazama is known to be present only in a San Jose Island.

The disjunct distribution of the Pearl Islands population offers an good scenario for testing phylogenetic hypotheses. CURRENT STATUS In the lab, we have successfully amplified mitochondrial cytochrome B gene (C) and the Control region of white tail deer by using universal primers.

Agarose gel showing amplified fragments of cytochrome B gene from white tailed deer (Odocoileus Le, red brocket deer M. temama; right, gray brocket virginianus), outgroup taxa. deer M. gouazoubira. Pearl Island deer have been reported to be smaller than their mainland relaves (Images courtesy of ARKIVE.org).

Distribuon of (a) M. temama and (b) M. gouazoubira CONTACT INFORMATION (IUCN); (c)geographic locaon of Pearl Islands and San Jose T. Chrisan: tchrisan@ufl.edu; J.L. Pino: jlpino@ufl.edu. Island.