Genetic effective population size approximates census size in sharks
Event Details
- Date:
- Tuesday, 24 March 2015
- Time:
- 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
- Room:
- Level 3, Large Seminar Room
- UQ Location:
- Queensland Bioscience Precinct (St Lucia)
- URL:
- http://www.qaafi.uq.edu.au/qaafi-science-seminars-2015
- Event category(s):
Event Contact
- Name:
- Mrs Luba Hickey
- Phone:
- 62092
- Email:
- l.kakoychenko@uq.edu.au
- Org. Unit:
- Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation
Event Description
- Full Description:
- QAAFI Science Seminar
Presented by Dr Christine Dudgeon
The School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland
ABSTRACT
Genetic effective population size (Ne) estimators are useful as applied conservation tools. Many elasmobranch (shark and ray) species are threatened at local and global scales, and tools to monitor these populations are greatly needed.
This study addresses the hypothesis that contemporary Ne estimates from genetic data approximate census estimates (Nc) in elasmobranch populations. We examine Ne in a population of zebra sharks (Stegostoma fasciatum) for which robust census estimates exist. Our findings support this hypothesis, with estimates of Ne (377, 95% CI = 274-584) closely approximating Nc (458, 95% CI = 298-618), with an Ne/ Nc ratio of 0.82 (SE = 0.27). Furthermore, we conduct a series of sensitivity analyses to examine how the numbers of samples and loci affect the precision and accuracy of the estimators. Uniquely, the sensitivity analyses are done with the empirical data, unlike other studies that use simulated data. We demonstrate that for this species at least robust and precise estimates are obtainable with a minimum of 91 samples (approximately 20% of the census population) and 10 loci. These findings provide important guidelines for implementing genetic monitoring in elasmobranch conservation efforts, as well as contributing to the body of literature on contemporary genetic effective population size and its general application to wildlife management.
About Dr Christine Dudgeon
Dr Dudgeon's research interests centre on the ecology and evolution of marine populations and species, and their application to conservation and fisheries management. She employs a suite of techniques including genetics, acoustic telemetry, conventional and natural tagging (mark-recapture), and statistical modeling to investigate what comprises a population for marine species and how this changes in space and time, as well as identifying species and speciation processes. Dr Dudgeon have worked across marine taxa from corals to whales with current focus primarily on sharks, rays and humpback whales. Christine undertook her PhD at The University of Queensland (UQ) focusing on the ecology of the zebra shark in association with The Molecular Fisheries Laboratory, Qld DPI (completed 2009). This study is a component of work during her postdoctoral fellowship with the School of Veterinary Sciences, UQ.
Directions to UQ
- Google Map:
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- Directions:
- St Lucia Campus | Gatton campus.
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