Dissertation Research: Genetic Effects of Extinction and Recolonization in a Host-Parasite System

这项研究将确定一些机构的作用， 种群水平的过程，包括遗传漂变， 移民和当地人口灭绝， 在确定遗传模式时， 自然界中的种群分化。 人口统计数据将与 基因数据来检验关于 这些不同的因素。 研究动物是燕子 一种寄生于昆虫的体外寄生虫， 内布拉斯加州的崖燕 燕子种群 臭虫经历着有规律的种群增长周期 以及由于殖民地的短暂使用而导致的灭绝 崖燕宿。 因此，它们是理想的 适用于研究群体遗传效应的 动力因素，如灭绝和灭绝。 有一个长期（10年）数据库， 详细介绍了殖民地的使用和迁移模式， 崖燕居。 东方与哪个重要 可以估计这些错误的种群参数 使得一个种群的遗传基因在两个方面都不寻常， 精确和广泛的范围。 该研究将扩大基础 了解遗传的基本过程 自然种群的分化， 经验检验经典静态（平衡） 群体遗传结构理论反对更多 最近提出的动态模型。 在实践 在这一层面上，研究将提供对 各种自然影响的重要性，如当地 种群灭绝，在确定总体水平 一个物种的遗传多样性。 这些信息 对自然资源的保护 生物学家作为指导，制定有效的 保持物种遗传多样性的策略 野外

The study will determine the roles of a number of population-level processes, including genetic drift, migration, and local population extinction and recolonization, in determining the patterns of genetic differentiation among populations in nature. Population demographic data will be compared with genetic data to test theories concerning the effects of these various factors. The study animal is the swallow bug Oeciacus vicarius an ectoparasite exclusively of cliff swallows in Nebraska. Populations of swallow bugs undergo regular cycles of local population growth and extinction due to the ephemeral use of colony sites by the cliff swallow host. They are thus ideally suited for studies of the population genetic effects of dynamic factors such as extinction and recolonization. A longterm (10-year) database is available which details colony site usage and migration patterns for the cliff swallow hosts. The east with which important population parameters for these bugs may be estimated makes possible a population genetic unusual in both its precision and broad scope. The study will expand basic understanding of the fundamental process of genetic differentiation in natural populations, and will empirically test classical static (equilibrium) theories of population genetic structure against more recently proposed dynamic models. At a practical level, the study will provide general insights into the importance of various natural effects, such as local population extinction, in determining the overall level of genetic diversity for a species. This information is of considerable importance to conservation biologists as a guide in formulating effective strategies for maintaining species genetic diversity in the wild.