Multiple markers and multiple individuals refine true seal phylogeny and bring molecules and morphology back in line.

Despite decades of study, some aspects of Phocidae (Pinnipedia, Carnivora) phylogeny still remain unresolved. Using the largest novel dataset to date, including all extant phocids and comprising 15 nuclear and 13 mitochondrial genes, we illustrate the utility of including multiple individuals per species in resolving rapid radiations, and provide new insight into phocid phylogeny. In line with longstanding morphological views, Pusa is recovered as monophyletic for the first time with genetic data.

Pollen-mediated gene flow from transgenic safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) intended for plant molecular farming to conventional safflower.

Field experiments were conducted in Chile and western Canada to measure short-distance (0 to 100 m) outcrossing from transgenic safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) intended for plant molecular farming to non-transgenic commodity safflower of the same variety. The transgenic safflower used as the pollen source was transformed with a construct for seed-specific expression of a high-value protein and constitutive expression of a gene conferring resistance to the broad-spectrum herbicide glufosinate.

Population structure of ice-breeding seals.

The development of population genetic structure in ice-breeding seal species is likely to be shaped by a combination of breeding habitat and life-history characteristics. Species that return to breed on predictable fast-ice locations are more likely to exhibit natal fidelity than pack-ice-breeding species, which in turn facilitates the development of genetic differentiation between subpopulations. Other aspects of life history such as geographically distinct vocalizations, female gregariousness, and the potential for polygynous breeding may also facilitate population structure.

Molecular phylogeny of the Arctoidea (Carnivora): effect of missing data on supertree and supermatrix analyses of multiple gene data sets.

Phylogenetic relationships of 79 caniform carnivores were addressed based on four nuclear sequence-tagged sites (STS) and one nuclear exon, IRBP, using both supertree and supermatrix analyses. We recovered the three major arctoid lineages, Ursidae, Pinnipedia, and Musteloidea, as monophyletic, with Ursidae (bears) strongly supported as the basal arctoid lineage. Within Pinnipedia, Phocidae (true seals) were sister to the Otaroidea [Otariidae (fur seals and sea lions) and Odobenidae (walrus)].

Genetic analysis reveals demographic fragmentation of grizzly bears yielding vulnerably small populations.

Ecosystem conservation requires the presence of native carnivores, yet in North America, the distributions of many larger carnivores have contracted. Large carnivores live at low densities and require large areas to thrive at the population level. Therefore, if human-dominated landscapes fragment remaining carnivore populations, small and demographically vulnerable populations may result.

A phylogeny of the Caniformia (order Carnivora) based on 12 complete protein-coding mitochondrial genes.

Evolutionary relationships of the order Carnivora have been extensively studied. However, phylogenetic studies based on different types of data, species samples, and methods of analysis provide contradictory results. Consequently, phylogenetic relationships of Carnivora remain contentious.

Genetic differentiation and gene flow among populations of the alpine butterfly, Parnassius smintheus, vary with landscape connectivity.

Levels of gene flow among populations vary both inter- and intraspecifically, and understanding the ecological bases of variation in levels of gene flow represents an important link between the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of populations. The effects of habitat spatial structure on gene flow have received considerable attention; however, most studies have been conducted at a single spatial scale and without background data on how individual movement is affected by landscape features. We examined the influence of habitat connectivity on inferred levels of gene flow in a high-altitude, meadow-dwelling butterfly, Parnassius smintheus.

Among- and within-patch components of genetic diversity respond at different rates to habitat fragmentation: an empirical demonstration.

Habitat fragmentation is a ubiquitous by-product of human activities that can alter the genetic structure of natural populations, with potentially deleterious effects on population persistence and evolutionary potential. When habitat fragmentation results in the subdivision of a population, random genetic drift then leads to the erosion of genetic diversity from within the resulting subpopulation, random genetic drift then leads to the erosion of genetic diversity from within the resulting subpopulations and greater genetic divergence among them. Theoretical and simulation analyses predict that these two main genetic effects of fragmentation, greater differentiation among resulting subpopulation and reduced genetic diversity within them, will proceed at very different rates.

A phylogeny of the extant Phocidae inferred from complete mitochondrial DNA coding regions.

Despite extensive interest in the systematics of Pinnipedia, questions remain concerning phylogenetic relationships within the Phocidae or "true" seals. Relationships within the phocids and their placement relative to the remaining pinnipeds and major lineages of arctoid carnivores were examined using a large molecular data set consisting of 12 mitochondrial protein coding genes. Phylogenetic analysis including 15 extant species of the Phocidae, and representatives of the Otariidae, Odobenidae, Ursidae, Mustelidae, Canidae, and Felidae confirmed the monophyletic origins of the Pinnipedia within the Arctoidea.

Undesirable evolutionary consequences of trophy hunting.

Phenotype-based selective harvests, including trophy hunting, can have important implications for sustainable wildlife management if they target heritable traits. Here we show that in an evolutionary response to sport hunting of bighorn trophy rams (Ovis canadensis) body weight and horn size have declined significantly over time. We used quantitative genetic analyses, based on a partly genetically reconstructed pedigree from a 30-year study of a wild population in which trophy hunting targeted rams with rapidly growing horns, to explore the evolutionary response to hunter selection on ram weight and horn size.

A phylogenetic comparison of red deer and wapiti using mitochondrial DNA.

A phylogeny was constructed for red deer/wapiti (Cervus elaphus) subspecies using sequence data from the control region of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). The tree was rooted using Cervus nippon (sika deer), Cervus albirostris (Thorold's white-lipped deer), and several Odocoileinae species. A division between the mtDNA haplotypes of red deer (European) and wapiti (Asian/North American) corresponds to subspecies found on opposite sides of the Himalayan Mountains and Gobi, which suggests wapiti should be reconsidered for the status of C.

EVOLUTIONARY RELATIONSHIPS AMONG COLONIES OF COLUMBIAN GROUND SQUIRRELS AS SHOWN BY MITOCHONDRIAL DNA.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from 71 Columbian ground squirrels (Spermophilus columbianus) collected in 12 locations in western Canada were assayed for restriction-site variation with 10 endonucleases. Five of these endonucleases revealed variant patterns, and the composite genotypes were used to develop a linear transformation series among the mtDNA genotypes. Two of the four clones had a wide distribution, while the remaining two clones were geographically restricted.