Tag Archives: conservation

Can small populations benefit from genetic rescue?

The core dogma of conservation biology is clear: small populations are bad for species’ persistence. If we observe a population of endangered vertebrates harboring abundant deleterious mutations but without any reduction in fitness, what is happening there? I would like … Continue reading

Posted in conservation, genomics, mammals, mutation, population genetics, theory | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The spirit of Antarctic invasions future?

Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol during a change in how Victorian England viewed the Christmas holiday. It’s clearly not Christmas … and certainly isn’t a jolly time. But, taking some artistic liberty from how Dickens outlined the five chapters of … Continue reading

Posted in blogging, community ecology, comparative phylogeography, conservation, DNA barcoding, ecology, evolution, mini-review, natural history, phylogeography, Science Communication | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bobbing for Bobcats

Catherine Sirgo wrote this post as a part Dr. Stacy Krueger-Hadfield’s Science Communication course at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Catherine is a Master’s Candidate within Dr. Thane Wibbels’ lab researching conservation for the Mississippi Diamondback Terrapin in Alabama. Catherine earned … Continue reading

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In defense of hatcheries: a response to the "Artifishal" documentary

A month or so ago, I had opportunity to screen the documentary, “Artifishal” (admittedly, a pretty clever title), in a room full of fish biologists, geneticists, and hatchery managers.  The premise of the film is that both hatcheries and open … Continue reading

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A Highlight of Molecular Ecology outside of Academia

I’ve recently made a career change. Actually, I’m not even sure whether to call it that, or the next step of a natural, if meandering progression of a scientist not on the academic career path. Even though I see more and … Continue reading

Posted in career, conservation, ecology, funding, pedigree, population genetics, quantitative genetics, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Genomic signatures of ancient rendezvous and separation in elephant evolution

Evidence from various levels of the tree of life is showing that we’ve been picturing ancient encounters between related species all wrong and admixture events are probably more common than expected. Even rendezvous among primates, caniforms, and majestic proboscideans often … Continue reading

Posted in conservation, evolution, genomics, hybridization, natural history, Paleogenomics, phylogeography | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Experimental harvesting reduces gene expression variation

Human activities represent unique selective pressures for natural populations. This is especially true for fish species where we routinely harvest individuals from the wild, i.e., through fishing. It has been recognized for some time that overfishing can result in population … Continue reading

Posted in adaptation, conservation, evolution, genomics, transcriptomics | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Mapping genomes and navigating behavior for wildlife conservation

Virginia Aida wrote this post as a final project for Stacy Krueger-Hadfield’s Science Communication course at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She is currently evaluating a potential pharmacotherapy in traumatic brain injury and anticipates graduating with her MS in summer 2017.  Although she … Continue reading

Posted in adaptation, association genetics, bioinformatics, blogging, conservation, domestication, evolution, natural history | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Like Turtles, Terrapin Research Moves a Little Slow

Marlee Hayes wrote this post as a final project for Stacy Krueger-Hadfield’s Science Communication course at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her primary interests focus on challenges in conservation and sustainability. Previously, she evaluated fitness of post-hatchling Diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin), … Continue reading

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What's left of the black rhino's genetic diversity?

With the current poaching epidemic we might lose rhinos before we even have time to get to know them. Luckily, the day has come and thanks to Yoshan Moodley, Mike Bruford and their team we know have a pretty good … Continue reading

Posted in conservation, evolution, Paleogenomics, phylogeography, population genetics | Tagged , , | 1 Comment