Using GIS (Geographic Information Systems) in spatially explicit analyses of population genetic structure

Collaborators:  Robert Fisher, Tod Reeder, David Weissman and Michael Caterino

NSF Award: DBI-0204447

geography and gene tree
Justification

In order to achieve the goal of long-term biodiversity conservation, biologists must take into account both the current distribution of species diversity within a landscape, as well as information about the way in which this diversity was created and is maintained. Thus, the evolutionary history and potential of species (information contained within each species population genetic structure) should be considered.

The explicit arrangement of habitats and dispersal barriers in the geographic landscape dictates the distribution of genetic variation within species. Accordingly, analyses of genetic variation are inherently spatial, and best conducted at the landscape level. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) offer a comprehensive tool for analyzing genetic data using detailed information about the biotic and abiotic landscape. Despite this, GIS-based analyses have rarely been incorporated in population genetic studies
 


Project Overview

We are exploring the utility of GIS for genetic inquiries at two scales. At a regional level, we are investigating concordance among patterns of genetic diversity and geographic features for several co-occuring species. These will include invertebrates, herpetofauna and small mammals. Second, at a finer scale, we are determining the impacts of recent habitat fragmentation by coastal development on the population genetic structure of two habitat-sensitive invertebrates, the mahogany jerusalem cricket and the coastal silk-spinning cricket .

The proposed investigations are focused in the Southern California ecoregion, where ongoing environmental and biological monitoring has yielded a large collection of detailed environmental and species distribution data (See . Several comprehensive genetic data sets for species in similar functional groups and overlapping study areas are also being developed. With these inquiries we hope to determine the extent to which landscape-level processes influence the creation, distribution, and maintenance of regional genetic biodiversity. These GIS-based techniques should be widely applicable for analyses of geo-spatial genetic patterns in a variety of ecological systems, providing a new tool for conservation scientists to incorporate evolutionary information  in longterm conservation planning.

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