An Exploration of the Effects of Genetic Drift on the Endangered Red-Cockaded Woodpecker

The Red-cockaded Woodpecker (RCW) (Picoides borealis) is classified as anendangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The RCW is endemic tothe longleaf pine forests of the southeastern United States. The two main factorscontributing to the RCW population declines are the suppression of natural wildfiresduring the 1900's and the habitat fragmentation due to inappropriate timber harvesttechniques. Given the endangerment of the RCW, the genetic variation of the smallpopulations will decrease over time due to random genetic drift. The only method ofbattling the negative effects of random genetic drift is to move, or translocate, geneticallydiverse birds into the fragmented populations thereby increasing the genetic diversity ofthe small populations. The objective of this research effort is to explore the effects ofrandom genetic drift on small RCW populations and to determine the most efficientmanagement strategies to be used in different situations.