Location
University of Nevada Las Vegas, Science and Education Building
Start Date
9-8-2011 10:15 AM
End Date
9-8-2011 12:00 PM
Description
The current and projected future warming trends together with degradation of habitats throughout much of the Great Basin and Columbian Plateau represent real threats to many species occupying these regions. If we can determine the impacts of past climatic changes on the distribution of species, we can obtain a better understanding of the future impacts of projected climatic trends on many species in these regions. My results with the Great Basin Pocket Mouse (Perognathus parvus) may be relevant to conservation ecologists and resource managers attempting to protect several Endangered Species Act candidates, such as the pygmy cottontail (Brachylagus idahoensis). I used ecological niche modeling and molecular genetics to determine if P parvus distribution shifted according to predictions of climate-driven habitat changes between the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; when ice sheets were at their maximum between 26,500-20,000 years ago) and present time.
Keywords
Biogeography; Great Basin pocket mouse – Climatic factors; Great Basin pocket mouse – Effect of global warming on; Niche (Ecology); Paleobiogeography
Disciplines
Animal Sciences | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | Evolution | Genetics and Genomics | Molecular Genetics
Language
English
Evaluating species responses to climate change using ecological niche modeling and genetic data
University of Nevada Las Vegas, Science and Education Building
The current and projected future warming trends together with degradation of habitats throughout much of the Great Basin and Columbian Plateau represent real threats to many species occupying these regions. If we can determine the impacts of past climatic changes on the distribution of species, we can obtain a better understanding of the future impacts of projected climatic trends on many species in these regions. My results with the Great Basin Pocket Mouse (Perognathus parvus) may be relevant to conservation ecologists and resource managers attempting to protect several Endangered Species Act candidates, such as the pygmy cottontail (Brachylagus idahoensis). I used ecological niche modeling and molecular genetics to determine if P parvus distribution shifted according to predictions of climate-driven habitat changes between the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; when ice sheets were at their maximum between 26,500-20,000 years ago) and present time.