COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RAPID: Effects of Volcanic Activity on Demographic and Genetic Structure in Tuco-Tucos

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For the last 20 years, Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi in Argentina has been the site of a comparative study of ecology and genetics of two species of tuco-tuco, a type of burrowing rodent. The June 2011 ongoing eruption of the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcanic chain in southern Chile has created a time-sensitive opportunity to assess the impacts of a major geological event on patterns and processes of genetic diversification in natural populations of vertebrates. With extensive pre-eruption data, the proposed post-eruption monitoring will capitalize upon an unprecedented opportunity to explore the effects of a catastrophic environmental event on the population genetics of free-living organisms. Therefore, this study should lead to important new insights into the impacts, including long-term impacts, of volcanic activity, or other catastrophic events, on genetic diversity.The proposed research supports student training, conservation, and local outreach and education efforts. It will involve undergraduate volunteers from Berkeley, Stanford, and the Universidad Nacional del Comahue in Bariloche, Argentina, thereby providing significant student training. With regard to public outreach, the PIs will maintain web and blog sites on the project, providing quick public access to research methods and results. For the past 20 years, the PIs have worked closely with Administracion de Parques Nacionales Argentinas and other conservation organizations in Patagonia to develop sound, data-based strategies for protecting one of the species of tuco-tuco, including development of the current monitoring and management program. Data generated by the proposed research will contribute to these ongoing efforts.