Dan Sanchez | PhD Student

Abstract

Hierarchical assessments of gene flow for cryptic and endangered mammals.

To conserve genetic diversity today is to conserve the evolutionary product of tomorrow. Yet, the species of today increasingly face unprecedented threats to their habitat. If a species cannot acclimate or shift its range in response to degradation, it must adapt through natural selection. To do so requires sufficient maintenance of genetic variability (i.e., gene flow) and the ability for individuals to survive and reproduce. The quality of habitat is the central factor toward accommodating these parameters. Assessments of gene flow provide conservation relevance from identifying evolutionary significant units across a range, locating fragmentation in a landscape, to understanding trophic interactions within a patch. A century of theory and technologies exist toward this goal but cryptic and endangered species may exhibit unique challenges to sampling capacity and quality, in combination with the expedited nature of conservation action. In three studies, I conduct genetic assessments for cryptic and endangered mammals at multiple levels. I first assess the Holocene-era range expansion of the spotted bat (Euderma maculatum) in a context of specimen deficiency. I then use a dataset largely (90%) of fecal DNA to address cryptic dispersal and dietary diversity for the endangered New Mexico meadow jumping mouse (Zapus hudsonius luteus). These assessments can provide immediate conservation insight for two species but the methodologies involved are also relevant to time and cost-effective monitoring frameworks across a broad range of species.