Melanie Culver, PhD
Melanie uses genetic tools and analyses to contribute to management decisions and wildlife conservation. She uses genetic and genomic approaches across a variety of species including evolution, ecology, behavorial ecology, population dynamics, population monitoring, and virology, all which contribute to protecting wildlife and ecosystems.
Melanie is leading a citizen science jaguar and ocelot trail camera monitoring effort in southern Arizona that has detected 3 jaguars and 4 ocelots over the past 10 years. Her recently started projects include conservation genomics of flat-tailed horned lizards in Arizona; emerging viral diseases in at-risk populations of felids and ungulates; and Harris hawks in Baja California Sur.
Research Interests
- Conservation genetics
- New technology development
- Wildlife disease issues
- Climate change
- Genomics
Teaching Interests
- Conservation genetics
- Conservation biology
Professional Experience
Assistant Unit Leader, Arizona Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, 2002-
Education and Certifications
Ph D University of Maryland 1999
BS University of Utah 1984
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 34
Novel circoviruses detected in feces of Sonoran felids
Sonoran felids are threatened by drought and habitat fragmentation. Vector range expansion and anthropogenic factors such as habitat encroachment and climate change are altering viral evolutionary dynamics and exposure. However, little is known about the diversity of viruses present in these populations. Small felid populations with lower genetic diversity are likely to be most threatened with ext
Authors
Natalie Payne, Simona Kraberger, Rafaela S. Fontenele, Kara Schmidlin, Melissa H. Bergeman, Ivonne Cassaigne, Melanie Culver, Arvind Varsani, Koenraad Van Doorslaer
Complex evolutionary history of felid anelloviruses
Anellovirus infections are highly prevalent in mammals, however, prior to this study only a handful of anellovirus genomes had been identified in members of the Felidae family. Here we characterise anelloviruses in pumas (Puma concolor), bobcats (Lynx rufus), Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), caracals (Caracal caracal) and domestic cats (Felis catus). The complete anellovirus genomes (n = 220) recove
Authors
Simona Kraberger, Laurel EK Serieys, Cécile Richet, Nicholas M Fountain-Jones, Guy Baele, Jacqueline M. Bishop, Mary Nehring, Jacob S. Ivan, Eric S. Newkirk, John R. Squires, Michael C. Lund, Seth P. D. Riley, Christopher C. Wilmers, Paul D. van Helden, Koenraad Van Doorslaer, Melanie Culver, Sue VandeWoude, Darren P. Martin, Arvind Varsani
Genetic diversity and structure in Arizona pronghorn following conservation efforts
Arizona pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) population numbers have declined over the last century due to unregulated-harvest, population fragmentation, urban expansion, and habitat loss. Captive breeding, reintroductions, and translocations have helped to curb decline and boost population numbers of the endangered Sonoran subspecies (A. a. sonoriensis). To assess the effect of on-going management a
Authors
Erin E. Vaughn, Melanie Culver
Augmentation of natural prey reduces cattle predation by puma (Puma concolor) and jaguar (Panthera onca) on a ranch in Sonora, Mexico
Retaliatory killing of large carnivores due to livestock predation is one of the major threats for the conservation of many declining populations of predators. According to empirical observations, there is a higher incidence of livestock predation when native prey abundance is low. In this study, we applied a treatment consisting of augmentation of prey abundance by translocation of peccaries (Pec
Authors
Ivonne Cassaigne, Ron W. Thompson, Rodrigo A. Medellin, Melanie Culver, Alexander Ochoa, Karla Vargas, Jack L. Childs, Manuel Galaz, Jim Sanderson
PumaPlex100: An expanded tool for puma SNP genotyping with low-yield DNA
The original PumaPlex is a high-throughput assay developed to genotype 25 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in pumas (Puma concolor). Here, we describe the development of PumaPlex100 – an expanded version of the original assay that now genotypes > 100 SNPs. We tested 142 candidate SNPs and developed a panel of 101 polymorphic loci, which are spread across four multiplexes and suitable for gen
Authors
John A. Erwin, Robert R. Fitak, Melanie Culver
Use of museum specimens to refine historical pronghorn subspecies boundaries
Endangered Sonoran (Antilocapra americana sonoriensis) and Peninsular (A. a. peninsularis) pronghorn persist largely because of captive breeding and reintroduction efforts. Recovery team managers want to re-establish pronghorn in their native range, but there is currently uncertainty regarding the subspecies status of extinct pronghorn populations that historically inhabited southern California, U
Authors
Erin E. Hahn, Anastasia Klimova, Adrian Munguia-Vega, Kevin B. Clark, Melanie Culver
Genetic variation among island and continental populations of Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) subspecies in North America
Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia) have a large geographic range spanning both North and South America and resident populations occur on many islands in the eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Many owl populations are isolated and disjunct from other populations, but studies on genetic variation within and among populations are limited. We characterized DNA microsatellite variation in po
Authors
Alberto Macias-Duarte, Courtney J. Conway, Geoffrey L. Holroyd, Hector E. Valdez-Gomez, Melanie Culver
Genetic assessment of a bighorn sheep population expansion in the Silver Bell Mountains, Arizona
Background: The isolated population of desert bighorn sheep in the Silver Bell Mountains of southern Arizona underwent an unprecedented expansion in merely four years. We hypothesized that immigration from neighboring bighorn sheep populations could have caused the increase in numbers as detected by Arizona Game and Fish Department annual aerial counts.Methods: We applied a multilocus genetic appr
Authors
John A. Erwin, Karla Vargasc, Brian R. Blaisc, Kendell Bennettc, Julia Muldoond, Sarah Findysz, Courtney Christiec, James R. Heffelfingere, Melanie Culver
Genome-wide analysis of SNPs is consistent with no domestic dog ancestry in the endangered Mexican Wolf (Canis lupus baileyi)
The Mexican gray wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) was historically distributed throughout the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Extensive predator removal campaigns during the early 20th century, however, resulted in its eventual extirpation by the mid 1980s. At this time, the Mexican wolf existed only in 3 separate captive lineages (McBride, Ghost Ranch, and Aragón) descended from 3, 2, a
Authors
Robert R. Fitak, Sarah E. Rinkevich, Melanie Culver
Evolutionary and functional mitogenomics associated with the genetic restoration of the Florida panther
Florida panthers are endangered pumas that currently persist in reduced patches of habitat in South Florida, USA. We performed mitogenome reference-based assemblies for most parental lines of the admixed Florida panthers that resulted from the introduction of female Texas pumas into South Florida in 1995. With the addition of 2 puma mitogenomes, we characterized 174 single nucleotide polymorphisms
Authors
Alexander Ochoa, David P. Onorato, Robert R. Fitak, Melody Roelke-Parker, Melanie Culver
Diet of pumas (Puma concolor) in Sonora, Mexico, as determined by GPS kill sites and molecular identified scat, with comments on jaguar (Panthera onca) diet
We documented puma (Puma concolor) and jaguar (Panthera onca) prey consumption in northeastern Sonora, Mexico, by investigating global positioning system cluster sites (n = 220), and conducting molecular analyses of scat (n = 116) collected between 2011 and 2013. We used camera trap data (n = 8,976 camera days) to estimate relative abundances of pumas and jaguars. Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) was
Authors
Ivonne Cassaigne, Rodrigo A. Medellin, Ron W. Thompson, Melanie Culver, Alexander Ochoa, Karla Vargas, Jack L. Childs, Jim Sanderson, Rurik List, Armando Torres-Gomez
Jaguar taxonomy and genetic diversity for southern Arizona, United States, and Sonora, Mexico
Executive SummaryThe jaguar is the largest Neotropical felid and the only extant representative of the genus Panthera in the Americas. In recorded history, the jaguars range has extended from the Southern United States, throughout Mexico, to Central and South America, and they occupy a wide variety of habitats. A previous jaguar genetic study found high historical levels of gene flow among jaguar
Authors
Melanie Culver, Alexander Ochoa Hein
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 34
Novel circoviruses detected in feces of Sonoran felids
Sonoran felids are threatened by drought and habitat fragmentation. Vector range expansion and anthropogenic factors such as habitat encroachment and climate change are altering viral evolutionary dynamics and exposure. However, little is known about the diversity of viruses present in these populations. Small felid populations with lower genetic diversity are likely to be most threatened with ext
Authors
Natalie Payne, Simona Kraberger, Rafaela S. Fontenele, Kara Schmidlin, Melissa H. Bergeman, Ivonne Cassaigne, Melanie Culver, Arvind Varsani, Koenraad Van Doorslaer
Complex evolutionary history of felid anelloviruses
Anellovirus infections are highly prevalent in mammals, however, prior to this study only a handful of anellovirus genomes had been identified in members of the Felidae family. Here we characterise anelloviruses in pumas (Puma concolor), bobcats (Lynx rufus), Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), caracals (Caracal caracal) and domestic cats (Felis catus). The complete anellovirus genomes (n = 220) recove
Authors
Simona Kraberger, Laurel EK Serieys, Cécile Richet, Nicholas M Fountain-Jones, Guy Baele, Jacqueline M. Bishop, Mary Nehring, Jacob S. Ivan, Eric S. Newkirk, John R. Squires, Michael C. Lund, Seth P. D. Riley, Christopher C. Wilmers, Paul D. van Helden, Koenraad Van Doorslaer, Melanie Culver, Sue VandeWoude, Darren P. Martin, Arvind Varsani
Genetic diversity and structure in Arizona pronghorn following conservation efforts
Arizona pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) population numbers have declined over the last century due to unregulated-harvest, population fragmentation, urban expansion, and habitat loss. Captive breeding, reintroductions, and translocations have helped to curb decline and boost population numbers of the endangered Sonoran subspecies (A. a. sonoriensis). To assess the effect of on-going management a
Authors
Erin E. Vaughn, Melanie Culver
Augmentation of natural prey reduces cattle predation by puma (Puma concolor) and jaguar (Panthera onca) on a ranch in Sonora, Mexico
Retaliatory killing of large carnivores due to livestock predation is one of the major threats for the conservation of many declining populations of predators. According to empirical observations, there is a higher incidence of livestock predation when native prey abundance is low. In this study, we applied a treatment consisting of augmentation of prey abundance by translocation of peccaries (Pec
Authors
Ivonne Cassaigne, Ron W. Thompson, Rodrigo A. Medellin, Melanie Culver, Alexander Ochoa, Karla Vargas, Jack L. Childs, Manuel Galaz, Jim Sanderson
PumaPlex100: An expanded tool for puma SNP genotyping with low-yield DNA
The original PumaPlex is a high-throughput assay developed to genotype 25 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in pumas (Puma concolor). Here, we describe the development of PumaPlex100 – an expanded version of the original assay that now genotypes > 100 SNPs. We tested 142 candidate SNPs and developed a panel of 101 polymorphic loci, which are spread across four multiplexes and suitable for gen
Authors
John A. Erwin, Robert R. Fitak, Melanie Culver
Use of museum specimens to refine historical pronghorn subspecies boundaries
Endangered Sonoran (Antilocapra americana sonoriensis) and Peninsular (A. a. peninsularis) pronghorn persist largely because of captive breeding and reintroduction efforts. Recovery team managers want to re-establish pronghorn in their native range, but there is currently uncertainty regarding the subspecies status of extinct pronghorn populations that historically inhabited southern California, U
Authors
Erin E. Hahn, Anastasia Klimova, Adrian Munguia-Vega, Kevin B. Clark, Melanie Culver
Genetic variation among island and continental populations of Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) subspecies in North America
Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia) have a large geographic range spanning both North and South America and resident populations occur on many islands in the eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Many owl populations are isolated and disjunct from other populations, but studies on genetic variation within and among populations are limited. We characterized DNA microsatellite variation in po
Authors
Alberto Macias-Duarte, Courtney J. Conway, Geoffrey L. Holroyd, Hector E. Valdez-Gomez, Melanie Culver
Genetic assessment of a bighorn sheep population expansion in the Silver Bell Mountains, Arizona
Background: The isolated population of desert bighorn sheep in the Silver Bell Mountains of southern Arizona underwent an unprecedented expansion in merely four years. We hypothesized that immigration from neighboring bighorn sheep populations could have caused the increase in numbers as detected by Arizona Game and Fish Department annual aerial counts.Methods: We applied a multilocus genetic appr
Authors
John A. Erwin, Karla Vargasc, Brian R. Blaisc, Kendell Bennettc, Julia Muldoond, Sarah Findysz, Courtney Christiec, James R. Heffelfingere, Melanie Culver
Genome-wide analysis of SNPs is consistent with no domestic dog ancestry in the endangered Mexican Wolf (Canis lupus baileyi)
The Mexican gray wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) was historically distributed throughout the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Extensive predator removal campaigns during the early 20th century, however, resulted in its eventual extirpation by the mid 1980s. At this time, the Mexican wolf existed only in 3 separate captive lineages (McBride, Ghost Ranch, and Aragón) descended from 3, 2, a
Authors
Robert R. Fitak, Sarah E. Rinkevich, Melanie Culver
Evolutionary and functional mitogenomics associated with the genetic restoration of the Florida panther
Florida panthers are endangered pumas that currently persist in reduced patches of habitat in South Florida, USA. We performed mitogenome reference-based assemblies for most parental lines of the admixed Florida panthers that resulted from the introduction of female Texas pumas into South Florida in 1995. With the addition of 2 puma mitogenomes, we characterized 174 single nucleotide polymorphisms
Authors
Alexander Ochoa, David P. Onorato, Robert R. Fitak, Melody Roelke-Parker, Melanie Culver
Diet of pumas (Puma concolor) in Sonora, Mexico, as determined by GPS kill sites and molecular identified scat, with comments on jaguar (Panthera onca) diet
We documented puma (Puma concolor) and jaguar (Panthera onca) prey consumption in northeastern Sonora, Mexico, by investigating global positioning system cluster sites (n = 220), and conducting molecular analyses of scat (n = 116) collected between 2011 and 2013. We used camera trap data (n = 8,976 camera days) to estimate relative abundances of pumas and jaguars. Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) was
Authors
Ivonne Cassaigne, Rodrigo A. Medellin, Ron W. Thompson, Melanie Culver, Alexander Ochoa, Karla Vargas, Jack L. Childs, Jim Sanderson, Rurik List, Armando Torres-Gomez
Jaguar taxonomy and genetic diversity for southern Arizona, United States, and Sonora, Mexico
Executive SummaryThe jaguar is the largest Neotropical felid and the only extant representative of the genus Panthera in the Americas. In recorded history, the jaguars range has extended from the Southern United States, throughout Mexico, to Central and South America, and they occupy a wide variety of habitats. A previous jaguar genetic study found high historical levels of gene flow among jaguar
Authors
Melanie Culver, Alexander Ochoa Hein