UAF to study genetics of endangered species
December 16, 2010
907-474-5042
12/16/10
Scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences are launching a new study of the genetics of endangered species.
The project, funded by a $400,000 grant from the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development, will assess the history of polar bears and their relative, the brown/grizzly bear. Project leader and associate professor Matthew Cronin hopes to quantify the extent of DNA divergence within and between the species. He will also assess sea lion and beluga whale population genetic structures over time.
Cronin will study the timing of polar bear evolution from brown bear ancestors and what the sea ice and shoreline conditions were like in the ancient past.
“This will give insights regarding previous warming and cooling periods to which the bears were exposed and how and where they adapted,” Cronin said.
Collaborators on the project include the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Texas Tech University, the University of California Davis and Purdue University.
Cronin’s work has focused on population genetics and phylogenetics of large mammals, including bears, caribou, deer and domestic livestock. He has published several genetics papers on bears, including polar bears, in collaboration with U.S. Geological Survey scientists. He has also worked on wildlife, primarily caribou and grizzly bears in the oil fields on the North Slope. He serves on the Alaska Board of Forestry.
ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Matthew Cronin, UAF associate professor of animal genetics, macronin@alaska.edu. Tim Sullivan, business development officer, Division of Economic Development, tim_sullivan@alaska.gov.
NOTE TO EDITORS: UAF will be closed Dec. 20-Jan. 2. Matthew Cronin may be reached by e-mail during that time.
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