Inbreeding is high among many of Western Canada’s caribou populations, Charlotte Bourbon says. And the University of Calgary veterinary medicine PhD candidate says this has the potential to cause dire problems down the road. Bourbon looked at caribou DNA and genetic diversity for a study now published in the journal Evolutionary Application. She did the research under Jocelyn Poissant and Marco Musiani. She said the work started with a reach-out from the Government of British Columbia. “They were looking for more input and information about the DNA of the caribou,” she said. “Something that was missing in the story was inbreeding. “They had no idea about the inbreeding patterns across caribou in B.C.” Bourbon looked at 45 of B.C.’s 54 caribou populations. She found more than 28 had high amounts of inbreeding. “My research showed they might not have enough genetic diversity to survive in the long term,” she said.