CTR - Conservation Genetics

Summary

Region: Africa, South Pacific, North and South America

This research area focuses on the study of endangered or threatened populations and the development of strategies to preserve and protect the diversity of plants and animals worldwide. The Conservation Genetics discipline encompasses the fields of ecology, molecular biology, population genetics, landscape genetics, landscape ecology, mathematical modeling, and evolutionary systematics.

CTR researchers are working on a NASA-funded project to develop a species spatial distribution model that can incorporate remote sensing-detected or -derived environmental variables with corresponding genetic and phenotypic variables at various spatial and temporal scales. This integrated model will allow for the elucidation of the patterns and processes that govern diversification and speciation in a spatial and/or geographical context and the identification of important habitat for conservation.

Other projects include the study of the influence of human-caused habitat fragmentation on the structuring of populations of the threatened Rockfowl bird (Picathartes sp.) of Africa, and the use of plant population genetics to assess the effect of seed disperser loss on gene flow of Antrocaryon klaineanum (ANACARDIACEAE), a commercially important tree species that is dispersed almost exclusively by heavily hunted mammals.

CTR and the UCLA Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology jointly manage the UCLA Conservation Genetics Resource Center which collects genetic samples of plants, mammals, and birds and develops new molecular methods to enhance our analytical capabilities.

Current Projects

Preserving an Enigma: The Impact of Habitat Fragmentation on Rockfowl (Picathartes) in Central Africa (click here to download PDF)

Related Publications

2013	Mendoza E, Fuller T, Thomassen HA, Buermann W, Ramírez-Mejía D, Smith TB. An assessment of the effectiveness of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor for protecting potential Baird’s tapir (Tapirus bairdii Gill, 1865) habitat in Southern Mexico. Integrative Zoology 8:35-47. PDF
2012	Laurance, W. F., …T. B. Smith et al. Averting biodiversity collapse in tropical protected areas. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature11318. PDF
2011	Thomassen, H. A., T. Fuller, W. Buermann, B. Milá, C. M. Kieswetter, P. Jarrín-V., S. E. Cameron, E. Mason, R. Schweizer, J. Schlunegger, J. Chan, O. Wang, M. Peralvo, C. J. Schneider, C. H. Graham, J. P. Pollinger, S. Saatchi, R. K. Wayne, and T. B. Smith. Mapping evolutionary process: a multi-taxa approach to conservation prioritization. Evolutionary Applications 4: 397-413. PDF
2011	Laurance W. F., D. C. Useche, L. P. Shoo, S. K. Herzog, M. Kessler, F. Escobar, G. Brehm, J. C. Axmacher, I. C. Chen, L. A. Gámez, P. Hietz, K. Fiedler, T. Pyrcz, J. Wolf, C. L. Merkord, C. Cardelus, A. R. Marshall, C. Ah-Peng, G. H. Aplet, M. del Coro Arizmendi, W. J. Baker, J. Barone, C. A. Brühl, R.W. Bussmann, D. Cicuzza, G. Eilu, M. E. Favila, P. Hietz, A. Hemp, C. Hemp, J. Homeier, R. B. Huey, J. Hurtado, J. Jankowski, G. Kattán, J. Kluge, T. Krömer, D. Lees, M. Lehnert, J. T. Longino, J. Lovett, P. H. Martin, B. D. Patterson, R. G. Pearson, K. S.-H. Peh, B. Richardson, M. Richardson, M. Samways, F. Senbeta, T. B. Smith, T. Utteridge, J. E. Watkins, R. Wilson, S. E. Williams, and C. D. Thomas. Global warming, elevational ranges and the vulnerability of tropical biota. Biological Conservation 144: 548-557. PDF
2010	Thomassen, H. A., K. C. Jones, J. P. Pollinger, and T. B. Smith. Characterization of novel microsatellite loci for Myzomela cardinalis and M. rubrata honeyeaters, and cross-amplification in other species. Conservation Genetics Resources 2: 205-208. PDF
2010	Freedman, A. H., Buermann, W, Mitchard, E. T. A., DeFries, R. S., and T. B. Smith. Human impacts flatten rainforest savanna gradient and reduce adaptive diversity in a rainforest bird. PLoS ONE 5: e13088. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0013088. http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.001308. PDF
2010	Thomassen, H. A., W. Buermann, B. Milá, C. H. Graham, S. E. Cameron, C. J. Schneider, J. P. Pollinger, S. Saatchi, R. K. Wayne, and T. B. Smith. Modeling environmentally associated morphological and genetic variation in a rainforest bird, and its application to conservation prioritization. Evolutionary Applications 3: 1-16. PDF
2009	Freedman, A. H., W. Buermann, M. LeBreton, L. Chirio, and T. B. Smith. Modeling the effects of anthropogenic habitat change on savanna snake invasions into African rainforest. Conservation Biology 23: 81-92. PDF
2009	Smith, T. B. [REVIEW]. Equating forest conservation with hornbill conservation. Ecology and Conservation of Asian Hornbills: Farmers of the Forest. By Kinnaird, M. F, and T. G. O’Brien. Conservation Biology 23: 782-783. PDF
2008	Smith, T. B., and G. Grether. The importance of conserving evolutionary process. Pages 85-98. In S. P. Carroll and C. Fox (Eds.). Conservation Biology: Evolution in Action. Oxford University Press, Oxford. PDF
2007	Randall, D. A., J. P. Pollinger, R. K. Wayne, L. A. Tallents, P. J. Johnson, and D. W. Macdonald. Inbreeding is reduced by female-biased dispersal and mating behavior in Ethiopian wolves. Behavioral Ecology 18(3): 579-589. PDF
2007	Chaves, J. A., J. Pollinger, T. B. Smith, and G. Lebuhn. The role of geography and ecology in shaping the phylogeography of the speckled hummingbird (Adelomyia melanogenys) in Ecuador. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 43: 795-807. PDF
2006	Kohn, M. H., W. J. Murphy, E. A. Ostrander, and R. K. Wayne. Genomics and conservation genetics. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 21(11): 629-637. PDF
2006	Riley, S. P. D., J. P. Pollinger, R. M. Sauvajot, E. C. York, C. Bromley, T. K. Fuller, and R. K. Wayne. A southern California freeway is a physical and social barrier to gene flow in carnivores. Molecular Ecology 15(7): 1733-1741. PDF
2006	Aguilar, A., S.V. Edwards, T.B. Smith, and R.K. Wayne. Patterns of variation in MHC class II B loci of the little greenbul (Andropadus virens) with comments on MHC evolution in birds. Journal of Heredity 97: 133-142. PDF
2005	Delaney, K. S., and R. K. Wayne. Adaptive units for conservation: Population distinction and historic extinctions in the Island Scrub-Jay. Conservation Biology 19(2): 523-533. PDF
2005	Leonard, J. A., C. Vila, and R. K. Wayne. Legacy lost: genetic variability and population size of extirpated US grey wolves (Canis lupus). Molecular Ecology 14(1): 9-17. PDF
2005	Aguilar, A., T. B. Smith, and R. K. Wayne. A comparision of variation between a MHC pseudogene and microsatellite loci of the little greenbul (Androparus virens). BMC Evolutionary Biology 5: 47. PDF
2005	Mila, B.and C. Bardeleben. Isolation of polymorphic tetranucleotide microsatellite markers for the wedge-billed woodcreeper Glyphorynchus spirurus. Molecular Ecology Notes 5, 844-845. PDF
2005	Bardeleben, C. and M. M. Gray. Isolation of polymorphic tetranucleotide microsatellite markers for the streak-necked flycatcher Mionectes striaticollis. Molecular Ecology Notes 5, 755-756. PDF
2005	Bardeleben, C. and M. M. Gray. Isolation of polymorphic tetranucleotide microsatellite markers for the masked flowerpiercer Diglossa cyanea. Molecular Ecology Notes 5, 849-850. PDF
2004	Austerlitz, F., C.W. Dick, C. Dutech, E. K. Klein, S. Oddou-Muratorio, P. E. Smouse, and V. L. Sork. Using genetic markers to estimate the pollen dispersal curve. Molecular Ecology 13(4): 937-954. PDF
2004	Morin, P. A., G. Luikart, and R. K. Wayne. SNPs in ecology, evolution and conservation. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 19(4): 208-216. PDF
2003	Roemer, G. W., and R. K. Wayne. Conservatoin in conflict: The tale of two endangered species. Conservation Biology 17(5): 1251-1260. PDF
2002	Sork, V.L., F.W. Davis, P.E. Smouse, V.J. Aspit, R.J. Dyer, J.F. Fernandez, and B. Kuhn. Pollen movement in declining populations of California Vallery oak, Quercus lobata: where have all the fathers gone? Molecular Ecology 11(9): 1657-1668. PDF
2001	Wayne, R.K. and D. W. Brown. Hybridization and Conservation of Carnivores In: Carnivore Conservation. Gittleman, J., MacDonald, D.W., Funk, S., and Wayne, R.K. (Eds.). Cambridge University Press.
2001	Roemer, G. W., Smith, A. Deborah, Garcelon, David K.; Wayne, Robert K. The behavioural ecology of the island fox (Urocyon littoralis). Journal of Zoology (London) 255: 1-14. PDF
2001	Semple, K.E., R. K. Wayne, and R. M. Gibson. Microsatellite analysis of female mating behaviour in lek-breeding sage grouse. Molecular Ecology 10: 2043-2048. PDF
2001	Torres, E., D. C. Lees, R. I. Vane-Wright, C. Kremen, J. A. Leonard, and R. K. Wayne. Examining monophyly in a large radiation of Madagascan butterflies (Lepidoptera: Satyrinae: Mycalesina) based on mitochondrial DNA data. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 20: 460-473. PDF
2001	Vila, C., J. A. Leonard, A. Gotherstrom, S. Marklund, K. Sandberg, K. Liden, R. K. Wayne, and H. Ellegren. Widespread origins of domestic horse lineages. Science 291: 474-477. PDF
2001	Girman, D. J., C. Vila, E. Geffen, S. Creel, M. G. L. Mills, J. W. McNutt, J. Ginsberg, P. W. Kat, K. H. Mamiya, and R. K. Wayne. Patterns of population subdivision, gene flow and genetic variability in the African wild dog (Lycaon pictus). Molecular Ecology 10: 1703-1723. PDF
2001	Maldonado, J. E. V., Carles, and R. K. Wayne. Tripartite genetic subdivisions in the ornate shrew (Sorex ornatus). Molecular Ecology 10: 127-147. PDF
2000	Leonard, J. A., R. K. Wayne, and A. Cooper. Population genetics of ice age brown bears. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 97: 1651-1654. PDF
2000	Crandall, Keith A. Bininda-Emonds, Olaf R. P. Mace, Georgina M. Wayne, Robert K. Considering evolutionary processes in conservation biology. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 15: 290-295. PDF
2000	Kohn, Michael H. Pelz, Hans-Joachim, Wayne, Robert K. Natural selection mapping of the warfarin-resistance gene. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 97: 7911-7915. PDF