Genetics/Bioinformatices

Sage-grouse, iconic birds of the American West, have experienced dramatic reductions and fragmentation of habitat, resulting in significant conservation concern. Genetic information can help inform priorities for protection and habitat restoration as well as strategies for translocations, but may be difficult for resource managers to find, interpret, and use in their decision making. In this work...

USGS scientists are identifying local adaptation in sage-grouse by modeling allelic variation at large numbers of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in relation to environmental and climate variables.

Using the existing rangewide genetic and demographic data, scientists from the USGS, USDA Forest Service, and University of Waterloo will assess the relative contributions of habitat and genetic connectivity to lek size and stability.

Recent advances in molecular biology allow us to develop and apply the tools and concepts of molecular genetics to the conservation of biological resources. Working with our partners, we design and implement studies that provide genetic and genomic information for a broad range of applications, as detailed below.

Molecular tagging is a new application of molecular genetic techniques to traditional mark-recapture methodology designed to address situations where traditional methods fail. In such studies, non-invasively collected samples (such as feces, feathers, or fur) are used as a source of DNA that is then genotyped at multiple loci such that each individual animal can be uniquely identified. Thus, each...

The use of molecular genetics has become increasingly important in addressing wildlife conservation issues. In the Fort Collins Science Center Molecular Ecology Lab, scientists answer complex questions and conservation issues facing the management of the Nation's fish and wildlife resources. For example, FORT scientists can now locate genes that may contribute to a species' ability to respond to...

This goal of this study is to develop a spatially explicit habitat-population modeling framework to assess the viability of Gunnison Sage-grouse and each of the seven populations (Gunnison Basin and six satellite populations).

The Molecular Ecology Laboratory applies genetic and genomic technologies to address a variety of complex questions and conservation issues facing the management of the Nation's fish and wildlife resources. Together with our partners, we design and implement studies to document genetic diversity and the distribution of genetic variation among individuals, populations, and species. Information from...

Genetic analysis is increasingly used to understand ecosystem processes and inform conservation, management, and policy. I assist USGS researchers and their collaborators in the design, analysis, and interpretation of high-throughput genetic studies. Common applications include: detecting genes responsive to particular environmental stressors in a sentinel species or species of conservation...

Conservation genomics is a new field of science that applies novel whole-genome sequencing technology to problems in conservation biology. Rapidly advancing molecular technologies are revolutionizing wildlife ecology, greatly expanding our understanding of wildlife and their interactions with the environment. In the same way that molecular tools such as microsatellites revolutionized wildlife...

Landscape genetics is a recently developed discipline that involves the merger of molecular population genetics and landscape ecology. The goal of this new field of study is to provide information about the interaction between landscape features and microevolutionary processes such as gene flow, genetic drift, and selection allowing for the understanding of processes that generate genetic...

Population genetics is an area of research that examines the distribution of genetic variation and levels of genetic diversity within and between populations. This information provides insights into the level of connectedness of populations throughout a species’ range and can be used to identify unique populations or those with low levels of genetic diversity.