Genetic data improves niche model discrimination and alters the direction and magnitude of climate change forecasts.

Ecological niche models (ENMs) have classically operated under the simplifying assumptions that there are no barriers to gene flow, species are genetically homogeneous (i.e., no population-specific local adaptation), and all individuals share the same niche.

Large effect quantitative trait loci for salicinoid phenolic glycosides in : Implications for gene discovery.

Genomic studies have been used to identify genes underlying many important plant secondary metabolic pathways. However, genes for salicinoid phenolic glycosides (SPGs)-ecologically important compounds with significant commercial, cultural, and medicinal applications-remain largely undescribed. We used a linkage map derived from a full-sib population of hybrid cottonwoods ( spp.

Conserving threatened riparian ecosystems in the American West: Precipitation gradients and river networks drive genetic connectivity and diversity in a foundation riparian tree (Populus angustifolia).

Gene flow is an evolutionary process that supports genetic connectivity and contributes to the capacity of species to adapt to environmental change. Yet, for most species, little is known about the specific environmental factors that influence genetic connectivity, or their effects on genetic diversity and differentiation. We used a landscape genetic approach to understand how geography and climate influence genetic connectivity in a foundation riparian tree (Populus angustifolia), and their relationships with specieswide patterns of genetic diversity and differentiation.

Climate relicts and their associated communities as natural ecology and evolution laboratories.

Climate relicts, marginal populations that have become isolated via climate-driven range shifts, preserve ecological and evolutionary histories that can span millennia. Studies point to climate relicts as 'natural laboratories' for investigating how long-term environmental change impacts species and populations. However, we propose that such research should be expanded to reveal how climate change affects 'interacting' species in ways that reshape community composition and evolution.

Tree hybridization and genotypic variation drive cryptic speciation of a specialist mite herbivore.

Few studies have investigated the roles that plant hybridization and individual plant genotype play in promoting population divergence within arthropod species. Using nrDNA sequence information and reciprocal transfer experiments, we examined how tree cross type (i.e.

Lack of genetic differentiation in aggressive and secondary bark beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae) from Arizona.

Bark beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae) play an important role as disturbance agents in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Douglas ex Lawson) forests of Arizona. However, from 2001 to 2003, elevated bark beetle activity caused unprecedented levels of ponderosa pine mortality. A better understanding of the population structure of these species will facilitate analysis of their dispersal patterns and improve management strategies.

Extending genomics to natural communities and ecosystems.

An important step in the integration of ecology and genomics is the progression from molecular studies of relatively simple model systems to complex field systems. The recent availability of sequenced genomes from key plants is leading to a new understanding of the molecular drivers of community composition and ecosystem processes. As genome sequences accumulate for species that form intimate associations in nature, a detailed view may emerge as to how these associations cause changes among species at the nucleotide level.

Genome structure and emerging evidence of an incipient sex chromosome in Populus.

The genus Populus consists of dioecious woody species with largely unknown genetic mechanisms for gender determination. We have discovered genetic and genomic features in the peritelomeric region of chromosome XIX that suggest this region of the Populus genome is in the process of developing characteristics of a sex chromosome. We have identified a gender-associated locus that consistently maps to this region.