Applied Ecological Genetics

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Applied Ecological Genetics
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Topics

• Conservation Genetics
• Invasive Species
• Pesticide and Antibiotic Resistance
• Genetically Modified Organisms

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These topics are related

• Central importance of genetic variation and
  selection
• Applied to human problems

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Conservation GeneticsBiodiversity

• Genetic and phenotypic variation within and among
  species
• The variety of ecosystems created by these
  species
• Current mass extinction larger in scope to the
  one than ones caused by meteor impacts.

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Conservation Biology

• Application of biological principles to the
  conservation of biodiversity

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• Conservation Genetics

• What is the unit to be conserved (population,
  subspecies, species)?
• How do genetic factors affect population
  viability and extinction risk?
• How much genetic variation is available in
  endangered and threatened species for adaptation
  to future environmental change?

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What units should be conserved

• Evolutionarily Significant Units receive legal
  protection under ESA
• Current geographic separation
• Genetic differentiation due to
• restricted gene flow
• Locally adapted phenotypic traits

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Kemps Ridley Sea Turtle

• Hybrid between loggerhead and some other species?
• Subspecies of olive ridley sea turtle?
• RFLP analysis of mtDNA showed three species
  clearly distinct, supported ESU status of Kemps
  ridley (Bowen et al. 1991).
• Agree?

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What if you found the opposite?

• Dusky seaside sparrow not distinct from other
  seaside sparrows using mtDNA markers (Avise and
  Nelson 1989).
• Concluded that reintroduction of captive hybrids
  would serve little purpose.
• Agree?

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Scots Pine (Kahru et al. 1996)
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Kahru et al. (1996)
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Are neutral markers the best way to establish
ESUs?
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How do genetic factors affect extinction risk?

• 1.
• 2.
• 3.
• 4.

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Scarlet Gilia
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• Several other examples in text book of small
  population size effects on fitness.
• White Campion Plant
• Prairie chicken
• Vipers

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Genetic Rescue
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Lack of genetic variation for adaptation to
changing environment

• For complex phenotypes, what determines ability
  of population to respond adaptively to selection?
• Rh2 S
• How test?
• Resemblance between relatives
• Reciprocal transplants
• Artificial selection
• Neutral molecular markers

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But, how feasible are quantiative genetic methods?

• Are neutral markers the best way to determine
  evolvability of a population?

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Issues in Captive Management

• Population sizes very small.
• Careful records of reproduction to maximize out
  breeding and avoid loss of genetic diversity
• Unintended selection for traits that are
  advantageous in captivity

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Conservation Genetics is about maintaining
genetic diversity

• Conservation preventing the loss of
  biodiversity
• Diversity includes genetic diversity within
  populations
• Threats to genetic diversity are genetic drift
  and inbreeding