Erin Atkin, Nick Kerhoulas Receive Research Grants From American Society of Mammalogists
May 2, 2007.—Graduate Students Erin Atkin and Nick Kerhoulas each received a $1,500 Grant-in-Aid of Research from the American Society of Mammalogists this week to support their research. Erin’s project is “Using Molecular Scatalogy to Assess Genetic Variation and Dispersal in River Otters of Coastal Northern California”. Nick’s project is “Molecular Systematics and Biogeography of Mesoamerican Flying Squirrels.” Congratulations to both of them for obtaining these highly competetive grants!
Erin Atkin Receives Grant From Friends of the Arcata Marsh
April 2007—Erin Atkin received a $750 grant from the Friends of the Arcata Marsh to support her master’s research on the molecular ecology of river otters.
Jessica Blois Publishes Master's Thesis Research in Journal of Mammalogy
Jessica Blois (M.A., 2005) has published her thesis research on the conservation genetics of the Sonoma tree vole in the October, 2006 issue of the Journal of Mammalogy. (Jessica is now working on her PhD at Stanford).
Blois, J. L. and B. S. Arbogast. 2006. Conservation genetics of the Sonoma tree vole ( Arborimus pomo ) based on mitochondrial and amplified fragment length polymorphism markers. Journal of Mammalogy 87:950-960. PDF
ABSTRACT
We used a comparative, multimarker approach to investigate the conservation genetics of an arboreal vole (the Sonoma tree vole Arborimus pomo) in the Pacific Northwest of North America. We compared geographic patterns and overall levels of genetic diversity based on 55 amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) loci with those based on a single, commonly used mitochondrial locus, the control region. Although examination of the control region data revealed the presence of 2 distinct mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) clades within A. pomo (1 in the north and 1 in the south of the species’ range), the nuclear perspective provided by AFLP did not reveal a similar geographic division within the species, supporting instead that A. pomo consists of a single panmictic population. Genetic diversity estimates based on the mtDNA data (gene diversity = 0.79 and 0.80 for the 2 clades) were much greater than those based on AFLP (gene diversity = 0.31 and 0.19 for the 2 clades). These contrasting results reflect inherent differences between mitochondrial and nuclear loci in mutation rate, effective population size, expected time to monophyly, and mode of inheritance, and highlight the utility of using the combination of AFLP and mtDNA when assessing the genetic status of wild populations and species of mammals, especially those of conservation concern. In the case of A. pomo, our combined AFLP and mtDNA data support the recognition of the southern Sonoma tree voles as a distinct management unit within the species.
More Museum News…
Christopher Callahan Receives Research Grant From ASM
Christopher Callahan recently received a $1,500 Grant-in-Aid of Research from the American Society of Mammalogists to support his thesis research is on the systematics and biogeography of “whale lice.” Visit Chris’s web page to find out more about his exciting research.
More Museum News…
Vert Museum Alumn Co-Discovers New Genus of African Monkey- First in 83 years
For the first time in 83 years, scientists have identified a new genus of a living primate from Africa, according to research published in the June 2, 2006 issue of the journal Science.
“This is exciting news because it shows that the ‘age of discovery’ is by no means over,” says William (Bill) Stanley, a co-author of the study. Bill is the Collection Manager of Mammls at The Field Museum in Chicago, one of the premier collections in the world. He received his Master’s Degree in Zoology from HSU in 1986 and has contributed many specimens to the HSU Vertebrate Museum.
For more details on this exciting discovery, please visit the Field Museum’s Press Release
