Genealogical Concordance and Discordance in The Genetic Structure of Populations

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9407131 Avise In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that geographic populations of most animal species differ from one another genetically, and both historical and contemporary processes can influence these genetic distributions. Less-well appreciated are how closely the patterns of geographic variation in different genes and genetic assays match one another within a species, or how frequently concordant patterns are exhibited across species. Yet such assessments of genealogical concordance are crucial to a number of disciplines ranging from population genetics to systematics to conservation biology. For example, concordant genetic patterns would likely reflect shared elements in the histories of natural selection, population subdivision, and gene flow. Such patterns would also be highly relevant to taxonomic descriptions, and to assessments of within species biodiversity in a conservation context. This project will involve molecular genetic assays of geographic populations within several vertebrate species in the southeastern United States. The intent is to determine whether and how often concordant (as opposed to discordant) genetic patterns exist within these taxa, and to address the historical processes governing such patterns. The goal will be to provide a molecular level assessment of biodiversity in the southeastern region, and to develop a conceptual framework for interpreting and utilizing such information.