Publications by authors named "R K Wayne"

In the cells of Chara corallina, permeant monohydric alcohols including methanol, ethanol and 1-propanol increased the hydraulic resistance of the membrane (Lp). We found that the relative value of the hydraulic resistance (Lp) was linearly dependent on the concentration (C) of the alcohol. The relationship is expressed in the equation: Lp = ρC + 1, where ρ is the hydraulic resistance modifier coefficient of the membrane.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Wildlife populations are becoming increasingly fragmented by anthropogenic development. Small and isolated populations often face an elevated risk of extinction, in part due to inbreeding depression. Here, we examine the genomic consequences of urbanization in a caracal (Caracal caracal) population that has become isolated in the Cape Peninsula region of the City of Cape Town, South Africa, and is thought to number ~50 individuals.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The Galapagos rail has lost flight ability since colonizing the Galapagos Islands about 1.2 million years ago and has faced severe habitat loss due to overgrazing by introduced goats, resulting in declining populations and reduced genetic diversity.
  • Researchers investigated the evolutionary history and genetic distribution of Galapagos rails across different islands, revealing distinct populations and isolation events linked to the separation of landmasses.
  • The study highlights that long runs of homozygosity in the rails' genomes likely stem from historical population bottlenecks and emphasizes the importance of goat eradication to prevent inbreeding in surviving rail populations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Townsend's big-eared bat, Corynorhinus townsendii, is a cave- and mine-roosting species found largely in western North America. Considered a species of conservation concern throughout much of its range, protection efforts would greatly benefit from understanding patterns of population structure, genetic diversity, and local adaptation. To facilitate such research, we present the first de novo genome assembly of C.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Effective population size estimates are critical information needed for evolutionary predictions and conservation decisions. This is particularly true for species with social factors that restrict access to breeding or experience repeated fluctuations in population size across generations. We investigated the genomic estimates of effective population size along with diversity, subdivision, and inbreeding from 162,109 minimally filtered and 81,595 statistically neutral and unlinked SNPs genotyped in 437 grey wolf samples from North America collected between 1986 and 2021.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF