Integrative Biology (IB) 291 - Research Seminar - Genetics And The Conservation Of Wild Populations
Instructors: Craig Moritz (IB), George Roderick (ESPM) and Bill Sherwin (Univ. New South Wales)
Organizer: Craig Moritz (cmoritz@socrates.berkeley.edu)
Time: Wednesdays 3:00 - 5:00 pm for 8 weeks, commencing October 17th
Location: 214 Havalind
An expanded outline: Genetics And The Conservation Of Wild Populations
Genetic variation is recognized as one of three fundamental levels of biodiversity (ecosystem, species, genes). Seminal works in the early 1980s laid the basis for Conservation Genetics, and since then there has been an explosion of both the molecular and statistical methods for assessing genetic diversity (Hillis et al, 1996; Luikart and England, 1999). The new methods can be applied directly to recognize and guide the protection of genetic diversity per se, but there is also rapidly growing use of them to address diverse questions concerning behavior, demography and biogeographic history - the domain of molecular ecology - of threatened populations and species. Application of these methods to natural, often threatened populations has stimulated further development of theory and algorithms relating to finite or non-equilibrium populations, the relationship between molecular and quantitiative genetic diversity and these to fitness, conservation prioritization, and so on.
In this seminar we will discuss the past present and future use of genetic theory and tools for conserving natural populations. As a framework, we will review (and critique) draft chapters of a monograph being written by Moritz & Sherwin, adding two or more supplementary papers from the primary literature per session.
Topics are as follows:
WEEK 1 Introduction History and Scope of Genetics in Conservation woodruff.pdf frankel.pdf CG_Ch1.pdf Ch_01_Table1.5_Blank.doc |
WEEK 2 Tools and Concepts
and Surrogates in Conservation Genetics Analysis of Molecular Variation Genetic Analysis of Fitness and Related Traits Ch3_Fitness_All1.rtf |
WEEK 3: Molecular Ecology
part 1 Inferences about Mating Systems and Population Structure Estimation of Rates of Genetic Change Chapter_4PG.rtf |
WEEK 4: Molecular Ecology
part 2 Population structure and Connectivity Detection and Analysis of Hybridisation Ch_05_PGrad.rtf |
WEEK 5: Conservation of Genetic
Variation part 1 Biodiversity Assessment |
WEEK 6: Conservation of
Genetic Variation part 2 |
WEEK 7: Conservation of
Genetic Variation part 3 |
WEEK 8: Synthesis Practical Applications of Genetic Principles to Wildlife Management |