Sara Oyler-McCance, Ph.D.
Dr. Sara J. Oyler-McCance is a research geneticist at the Fort Collins Science Center, where she leads the Molecular Ecology Lab.
Biography
Dr. Sara J. Oyler-McCance is a research geneticist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) at the Fort Collins Science Center (FORT). She has worked for USGS since 1999 as a conservation geneticist leading the Molecular Ecology Lab at FORT. She 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. Current and past studies have provided information to assess taxonomic boundaries, inform listing decisions made under the Endangered Species Act, identify unique or genetically depauperate populations, estimate population size or survival rates, develop management or recovery plans, breed wildlife in captivity, relocate wildlife from one location to another, and assess the effects of environmental change.
Education
- Ph.D. in Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, 1999
- M.S. in Wildlife Biology, University of Maine, 1993
- B.S. in Biology, University of Michigan, 1991
Affiliations
- Affiliate Faculty, Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Colorado State University
- Affiliate Faculty, Fish Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University
- Affiliate Faculty, Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University
- Affiliate Faculty, Department of Integrative Biology, University of Colorado, Denver
Science and Products
Genetic characterization of the Pacific sheath-tailed bat (Emballonura semicaudata rotensis) using mitochondrial DNA sequence data
Emballonura semicaudata occurs in the southwestern Pacific and populations on many islands have declined or disappeared. One subspecies (E. semicaudata rotensis) occurs in the Northern Mariana Islands, where it has been extirpated from all but 1 island (Aguiguan). We assessed genetic similarity between the last population of E. s. rotensis and 2...
Oyler-McCance, Sara J.; Valdez, Ernest W.; O'Shea, Thomas J.; Fike, Jennifer A.Summary of science, activities, programs, and policies that influence the rangewide conservation of Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus)
The Greater Sage-Grouse, has been observed, hunted, and counted for decades. The sagebrush biome, home to the Greater Sage-Grouse, includes sagebrush-steppe and Great Basin sagebrush communities, interspersed with grasslands, salt flats, badlands, mountain ranges, springs, intermittent creeks and washes, and major river systems, and is one of the...
Manier, D.J.; Wood, David J.A.; Bowen, Z.H.; Donovan, R.M.; Holloran, M.J.; Juliusson, L.M.; Mayne, K.S.; Oyler-McCance, S.J.; Quamen, F.R.; Saher, D.J.; Titolo, A.J.Development and characterization of thirteen microsatellite loci in Clark's nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana)
Clark’s nutcrackers are important seed dispersers for two widely-distributed western North American conifers, whitebark pine and limber pine, which are declining due to outbreaks of mountain pine beetle and white pine blister rust. Because nutcracker seed dispersal services are key to maintaining viable populations of these imperiled pines,...
Oyler-McCance, Sara J.; Fike, Jennifer A.; Castoe, Todd A.; Tomback, Diana F.; Wunder, Michael B.; Schaming, Taza D.The genetic structure of a relict population of wood frogs
Habitat fragmentation and the associated reduction in connectivity between habitat patches are commonly cited causes of genetic differentiation and reduced genetic variation in animal populations. We used eight microsatellite markers to investigate genetic structure and levels of genetic diversity in a relict population of wood frogs (Lithobates...
Scherer, Rick; Muths, Erin; Noon, Barry; Oyler-McCance, SaraSample design effects in landscape genetics
An important research gap in landscape genetics is the impact of different field sampling designs on the ability to detect the effects of landscape pattern on gene flow. We evaluated how five different sampling regimes (random, linear, systematic, cluster, and single study site) affected the probability of correctly identifying the generating...
Oyler-McCance, Sara J.; Fedy, Bradley C.; Landguth, Erin L.Effects of sample size, number of markers, and allelic richness on the detection of spatial genetic pattern
The influence of study design on the ability to detect the effects of landscape pattern on gene flow is one of the most pressing methodological gaps in landscape genetic research. To investigate the effect of study design on landscape genetics inference, we used a spatially-explicit, individual-based program to simulate gene flow in a spatially...
Landguth, Erin L.; Gedy, Bradley C.; Oyler-McCance, Sara J.; Garey, Andrew L.; Emel, Sarah L.; Mumma, Matthew; Wagner, Helene H.; Fortin, Marie-Josée; Cushman, Samuel A.Rapid microsatellite identification from Illumina paired-end genomic sequencing in two birds and a snake
Identification of microsatellites, or simple sequence repeats (SSRs), can be a time-consuming and costly investment requiring enrichment, cloning, and sequencing of candidate loci. Recently, however, high throughput sequencing (with or without prior enrichment for specific SSR loci) has been utilized to identify SSR loci. The direct "Seq-to-SSR"...
Castoe, Todd A.; Poole, Alexander W.; de Koning, A. P. Jason; Jones, Kenneth L.; Tomback, Diana F.; Oyler-McCance, Sara J.; Fike, Jennifer A.; Lance, Stacey L.; Streicher, Jeffrey W.; Smith, Eric N.; Pollock, David D.Effects of sample size, number of markers, and allelic richness on the detection of spatial genetic pattern
The influence of study design on the ability to detect the effects of landscape pattern on gene flow is one of the most pressing methodological gaps in landscape genetic research. To investigate the effect of study design on landscape genetics inference, we used a spatially‐explicit, individual‐based program to simulate gene flow in a spatially...
Landguth, E.L.; Fedy, B.C.; Oyler-McCance, Sara J.; Garey, A.L.; Emel, S.L.; Mumma, M.; Wagner, H.H.; Fortin, M.-J.; Cushman, S.A.Rapid microsatellite identification from illumina paired-end genomic sequencing in two birds and a snake
Identification of microsatellites, or simple sequence repeats (SSRs), can be a time-consuming and costly investment requiring enrichment, cloning, and sequencing of candidate loci. Recently, however, high throughput sequencing (with or without prior enrichment for specific SSR loci) has been utilized to identify SSR loci. The direct “Seq-to-SSR”...
Castoe, T.A.; Poole, A.W.; de Koning, A. P. J.; Jones, K.L.; Tomback, D.F.; Oyler-McCance, Sara J.; Fike, Jennifer A.; Lance, S.L.; Streicher, J.W.; Smith, E.N.; Pollock, D.D.Genetic applications in avian conservation
A fundamental need in conserving species and their habitats is defining distinct entities that range from individuals to species to ecosystems and beyond (Table 1; Ryder 1986, Moritz 1994, Mayden and Wood 1995, Haig and Avise 1996, Hazevoet 1996, Palumbi and Cipriano 1998, Hebert et al. 2004, Mace 2004, Wheeler et al. 2004, Armstrong and Ball 2005...
Haig, Susan M.; Bronaugh, Whitcomb M.; Crowhurst, Rachel S.; D'Elia, Jesse; Eagles-Smith, Collin A.; Epps, Clinton W.; Knaus, Brian; Miller, Mark P.; Moses, Michael L.; Oyler-McCance, Sara; Robinson, W. Douglas; Sidlauskas, BrianMolecular genetic insights into the biology of Trumpeter Swans
No abstract available.
Oyler-McCance, Sara J.Molecular genetics at the Fort Collins Science Center
The Fort Collins Science Center operates a molecular genetic and systematics research facility (FORT Molecular Ecology Laboratory) that uses molecular genetic tools to provide genetic information needed to inform natural resource management decisions. For many wildlife species, the data generated have become increasingly important in the...
Oyler-McCance, S.J.; Stevens, P.D.