Our forthcoming book, to be published in 2009 by Cambridge University Press:
Molecular insights into natural resource conservation and management, edited by Professors DeWoody, Bickham, Michler, Nichols, Rhodes, and Woeste in the Department of Forestry & Natural Resources at Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN, USA). Click here for more information about the Purdue meeting associated with this book.
About the authors/editors:
Drs. DeWoody, Bickham, Michler, Nichols, Rhodes, and Woeste all study the genetics of natural resources; see http://www.fnr.purdue.edu/research/aoe/applied_ecological_genetics.shtml for our webpage at Purdue University. We study forestry, fisheries, and wildlife and find that similar issues arise in these disparate fields. For example, one real-life intersection of our research programs occurred when the forest geneticists began asking how many sires contributed pollen to a nut-bearing hardwood tree. As it turns out, fisheries geneticists had already studied this problem from the perspective of a male fish guarding a nest full of developing embryos and had created computer programs to estimate the number of females who contributed eggs to his nest. Another such intersection of research across disciplines lies in the study of genetic processes in small populations. For example, the same conceptual and analytical approaches being used to elucidate the genetic consequences of wildlife reintroductions are being employed to evaluate losses of genetic diversity in hardwood tree species subjected to severe habitat fragmentation.
We are well-positioned to direct and crystallize an edited volume on the genetics of our natural resources. We teach several courses that directly pertain to our book’s content. These include Conservation Genetics (DeWoody), Molecular Ecology and Evolution (DeWoody), and Evolutionary Quantitative Genetics (Nichols). Several of us (DeWoody, Michler, Rhodes) have served as “genetics” editors for leading conservation and management journals (e.g., Journal of Wildlife Management, North American Journal of Fisheries Management, Plant Breeding Reviews). Furthermore, we have published literally scores of papers on the genetics of our natural resources. For a listing of over a hundred of our papers since 2003, see http://www.fnr.purdue.edu/research/aeg_publications/2007aeg_publications.shtml .
Content:
The chapters of our book are listed below; each chapter will consist of several key elements, including:
a) a brief history (review) of the topic and major conceptual developments in the field
b) an overview of the relevant molecular and analytical/computational approaches
c) a brief forecasting (preview) of future research directions
d) one or more applied cases studies (authored Boxes) that complements the chapter
Chapter 1. Editors (DeWoody, Bickham, Michler, Nichols, Rhodes, and Woeste)
Title: Ecological genetics of our natural resources
Chapter 2. David Hillis, John Bickham, and Rodney Honeycutt
Title: The importance of biotic discovery to conservation
Box/case study: Paul Hebert (U Guelph)
Chapter 3. Anne Kapuscinski
Title: GMOs: risks and benefits to natural resources
Box/case study: Barbara Schaal and Wesley J. Leverich (Wash U) Gene flow in rice
Chapter 4. Tom Whitham, Randy Bangert, Joe Bailey, and Gina Wimp
Title: A community and ecosystem genetics approach for conservation biology and management
Box/case study: Jeff Holland (Purdue) Landscape genetics of insect pests of the American chestnut
Chapter 5. Andrew DeWoody, Matt Hale, and John Avise
Title: Sex determining genes and their utility in the conservation of fishes
Box/case study: Lisette Waits (U Idaho)
Chapter 6. Antoine Kremer and Jeremy Derory
Title: The tempo of population differentiation for adaptive traits and their underlying genes in trees
Box/case study: Steve Palumbi (Stanford/Hopkins Marine Station) Genomic selection in corals and urchins
Chapter 7. Krista Nichols and David Neale
Box/case study: Jake Gratten, Alastair J Wilson, Allan F McRae, Dario Beraldi, Peter M Visscher, Josephine M Pemberton and Jon Slate (University of Sheffield, UK) Using gene mapping to understand microevolution: coat colour in Soay sheep
Chapter 8. Kelly Zamudio and Rick Harrison
Title: The dual role of hybridization in the origin and conservation of biodiversity
Box/case study: Marjorie Matocq (UNLV) Conserving patterns of diversity generated by hybridization in mammals
Chapter 9. Jim Hamrick
Title: Gene flow between plant populations in disturbed tropical landscapes
Box/case study: Peter Waser (Purdue)
Chapter 10. Robin Waples, Tom Cooney, Pete Lawson, Michelle Mcclure, Mary Ruckelshaus, and Tom Wainwright
Box/case study: Kermit Ritland (U British Columbia) Discovery of the SNP polymorphism underlying the white "Spirit Bear" of British Columbia and its implications for conservation
Chapter 11. Jamie Rudnick and Bob Lacy
Title: Genetic management of captive breeding programs for wildlife conservation
Box/case study: Yousry El-Kassaby (U British Columbia) Pedigree reconstruction: an alternative to systematic breeding
Chapter 12. Gene Rhodes and Emily Latch
Title: Wildlife reintroductions: Conceptual development and application of theory
Box/case study: Lisa Worthen, Keith Woeste, and Charles Michler (Purdue) Perspectives from ecological genetics: restoration of the American chestnut
Chapter 13. Paul L. Leberg, N. R. Giridhar Athrey, Kelly R. Barr, Denise L. Lindsay, Richard F. Lance
Title: Implications of landscape alteration for the conservation of genetic diversity of endangered species
Box/case study: Julie Etterson (University of Minnesota)
Chapter 14. Lee Shughart, Chris Theodorakis, & John Bickham
Title: Evolutionary toxicology
Box/case study: Stan Wullschleger
Chapter 15. Jim MacMahon
Title: The impact of molecules on the study of ecology
Time-frame for completion:
Each author is expected to complete a rough draft of their chapter by July 2008 and then circulate a complete draft of their chapter to the other authors in September 2008, prior to the October 2008 meeting. In essence, we will have the authors provide reviews of each other’s chapters in a round-robin fashion; further external reviews will be solicited if necessary. At the meeting, authors will share ideas, criticisms, and new data that will be incorporated into the final versions by late December 2008. We need to have the book to Cambridge by 1 January 2009.