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

小行星9623466 生境破坏的影响是保护自然群落和种群的一个核心问题。栖息地破坏的一个方面是破碎化，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相互隔离。 这些影响共同增加了局部和区域灭绝的可能性。 在这个奖项资助的工作将解决栖息地破碎化的影响，对草原甲虫（Chrysochus auratus）的人口动态，在明尼苏达州西部的草原片段的居民。 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，只有不到0.1%的原始高草草原仍然存在，大部分是小型孤立的保护区。人口相互作用的程度和整体模式的移动的个人之间的地方人口和草原片段将检查每个地方人口的遗传特征。 这样做，可以确定分散的甲虫种群的连通性。 这些数据将表明当地种群作为单一遗传和人口单位发挥作用的程度，这是保护生物学的一个主要概念问题。 此外，特定的草原遗迹和当地人口之间和保护区内的整体人口结构的相对重要性将进行审查。记录这些模式及其背后的过程对于理解生境破碎化的影响和有效管理破碎化的生境至关重要。

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.