Dissertation Research: Gene Flow Within a Spatially-Structured Beetle Population

9623466科尔宾：生境破坏的影响是保护自然群落和种群的一个主要问题。栖息地破坏的一个方面，破碎化，预计会减少受影响种群的规模，减少种群数量，并导致种群在遗传上彼此隔离。总之，这些影响增加了局部和区域灭绝的可能性。该奖项资助的工作将解决栖息地破碎化对草原甲虫（Chrysochus auratus）种群动态的影响，草原甲虫是明尼苏达州西部草原碎片的居民。美国的高草草原生态系统经历了巨大的变化。在明尼苏达州，原来的高草草原只剩下不到0.1%，大部分是小而孤立的保护区。种群相互作用的程度和个体在当地种群和草原碎片之间移动的总体模式将通过对每个当地种群的遗传特征进行检查。通过这样做，可以确定破碎的甲虫种群的连通性。这些数据将表明当地人口作为单一遗传和人口单位的作用程度，这是保护生物学的一个主要概念问题。此外，还将研究特定草原遗迹和当地种群对保护区内和保护区内总体种群结构的相对重要性。记录这些模式及其背后的过程对于理解栖息地破碎化的影响和有效管理破碎化的栖息地至关重要。

9623466 Corbin The effects of habitat destruction are a central concern for the conservation of natural communities and populations. One aspect of habitat destruction, fragmentation, is predicted to reduce the size of impacted populations, decrease the number of populations, and cause populations to become isolated from one another, genetically. Together, these effects increase the probability of local and regional extinction. Work funded in this award will address the effects of habitat fragmentation on the population dynamics of the prairie beetle (Chrysochus auratus) a resident of prairie fragments in western Minnesota. The tallgrass prairie ecosystem of the United States has experienced massive alteration. In Minnesota, less than 0.1% of the original tallgrass prairie remains, mostly as small isolated preserves. The degree of population interaction and the overall pattern of movement of individuals among local populations and prairie fragments will be examined by genetically characterizing each local population. In so doing, the connectedness of fragmented beetle populations can be ascertained. These data will indicate the degree to which local populations function as a single genetic and demographic unit, a primary conceptual issue in conservation biology. Also, the relative importance of particular prairie remnants and local populations to the overall population structure among and within preserves will be examined. Documenting these patterns and the processes that underlie them is crucial for understanding the effects of habitat fragmentation and effective management of fragmented habitat.