Vertebrate molecular ecology and conservation biology

我的研究将现代遗传学方法与传统的脊椎动物种群生态学研究相结合，研究了两个‘分子生态学’领域。第一个区域使用可变的DNA标记来检查形态不同的脊椎动物种群的“微系统学”。利用线粒体DNA和核DNA，我们发现达尔文的地雀在形态上的多样性并没有遗传上的差异，这对这么多不同的地雀物种的命名提出了质疑。最近，我们用类似的方法观察了加拉帕戈斯嘲鸟的遗传和形态差异，并威胁到了北美青蛙和猎鹰的数量。我的第二个研究领域使用DNA图谱来检测脊椎动物的额外配对受精(EPF)，有几个正在进行的成功的合作研究。我的下一笔发现基金将继续这些长期的亲子关系研究，特别是测试为什么雌性鹦鹉会寻求EPF，通常是多只雄性。微卫星和MHC标记可以用来评估鸟类的“遗传质量”，随着终生繁殖成功的数据的积累，我们可以检验对雀形目鸟类EPF的相互竞争的解释。亲子关系研究也将被用来描述北极熊和黑犀牛的神秘交配系统和个体繁殖成功的预测因素。我还计划保持对《微系统学》的兴趣，重点关注脊椎动物保护问题。我们已经建立了几个新的微卫星文库，并将利用它们来比较非洲和亚洲四种犀牛的历史和当代种群。我的项目一直在成功地制作影响深远的出版物和训练有素的人员，现在他们在广泛的领域做出了自己的贡献。拟议中的工作将使我的计划保持在加拿大和国外分子生态学研究的前沿。

My research integrates modern genetic approaches with traditional ecological studies of vertebrate populations in two areas of 'molecular ecology'. The first area uses variable DNA markers to examine the 'microsystematics' of morphologically divergent vertebrate populations. Using mtDNA and nuclear DNA, we showed that morphologically diverse Darwin's ground finches are not genetically differentiated, calling into question the designation of so many distinct ground finch species. More recently we used similar approaches to look at genetic versus morphological divergence in Galapagos mockingbirds and threatened North American frog and falcon populations. My second research area uses DNA profiling to detect extra-pair fertilization (EPF) in vertebrates, with several successful ongoing collaborative studies. My next Discovery grant will continue these long term parentage studies, in particular testing why female passerines seek EPF, often with multiple males. Microsatellite and MHC markers can be used to assess 'genetic quality' in birds, and with the accumulating data on lifetime reproductive success we can test competing explanations for passerine EPF. Parentage studies will also be used to describe cryptic mating systems and the predictors of individual reproductive success for polar bears and black rhinos. I also plan to maintain my interest in 'microsystematics', focusing on vertebrate conservation issues. We have produced several new microsatellite libraries and will use them to compare historical and contemporary populations in 4 species of rhinos in Africa and Asia. My program has been consistently successful at producing high impact publications and well-trained personnel now making their own contributions in a wide variety of areas. The proposed work will maintain my program at the forefront of research in molecular ecology in Canada and abroad.