Dissertation Research: Population Biology and Genetics of the Northern Elephant Seal, Mirounga angustirostris

小行星9622700 北方象海豹Mirounga angustirostris在哺乳动物中具有独特的人口统计历史：减少到接近灭绝，然后是指数级的人口增长。这一瓶颈伴随着遗传变异的减少，这阻碍了利用遗传标记研究海象种群生物学的努力。在该奖项资助的研究中，以极端变异性和高突变率为特征的微卫星基因座将用于克服这一问题。 研究的具体目标是通过利用北方象海豹的人口统计历史来研究微卫星位点的进化，开发一种监测北方象海豹免疫系统变异的方法，并利用微卫星标记来研究海豹种群的遗传和社会结构。 这些发现将为为什么一个遗传变异如此之少的物种在人口统计学上表现如此出色提供线索。开发用于研究北方象海豹种群和社会结构的标记也将作为测量迁移和交配行为的工具，这是遗传多样性的两个潜在决定因素。这项研究代表了基因组研究人员开发的方法在研究具有重要保护意义的受保护自然种群方面的早期应用。

9622700 Slatkin The Northern Elephant Seal, Mirounga angustirostris, possesses a unique demographic history among mammals: reduction to near extinction followed by exponential population growth. This bottleneck was accompanied by a reduction in genetic variation which has hampered efforts to use genetic markers to study Elephant Seal population biology. In the research funded by this award, microsatellite loci characterized by extreme variability and high mutation rates will be used to overcome this problem. The specific goals of the research are to study the evolution of microsatellite loci by exploiting the demographic history of the Northern Elephant Seal, to develop a method for monitoring immune system variation in the Northern Elephant Seal, and to use microsatellite markers to study the genetic and social structure of seal populations. Findings will provide clues as to why a species with so little genetic variation is doing so well demographically. The markers developed for use in studying Northern Elephant Seal population and social structure will also serve as tools to measure migration and mating behavior, two underlying determinants of genetic diversity. This research represents an early application of methods developed by genome researchers to the study of a protected natural population with important conservation implications.