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The Warner Mountains represent an isolated
range of mountains on the western edge of the Basin and Range
geologic province of the Great Basin. As such, this mountain
range represents a potentially important region to answer
several biogeographic questions. First, what is the direction
of gene flow between populations of small mammals on the east
and west slopes of the mountains? The Warner Mountains are a
relatively recent geological feature of the Great Basin.
Because of this, the populations of small mammals that inhabit
the range are also relatively recent in origin. It is predicted
that small mammal species such as Perognathus parvus,
whose origin is in the Great Basin, has colonized the mountains
from the east and south. On the other hand, species such as
Dipodomys californicus, whose origin is in the west and
south, invaded from that direction. Second, has each species
dispersed by the same route or are the patterns different?
There are at least 15 species of small mammal (insectivores and
rodents) in the Warner Mountains and surrounding areas. Several
of these species have distributions that are coterminous in the
region.
Proposed Undergraduate Role in the
Investigation
The
participating undergraduate students will serve a vital role in
this investigation by taking part in the field work and
analyzing the mtDNA sequence of the small mammal tissues
collected. RUMBA students will have the opportunity to
develop and test their own ideas within the framework of this
research.
One of Dr. Matson's graduate students collecting samples
in the field.
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Dr. Matson (left) with one of his
research students in the field.
Over a three-year period we will sample
small mammal populations from a variety of habitats and
localities throughout the Warner Mountains and surrounding areas
in an attempt to answer questions about small mammal historical
distribution routes. The National Forest Service Wildlife
Biologists can use the information provided to make wise
management decisions that affect the health and viability of our
national forests. For example, the selection of logging
areas might affect small mammal populations via disruption of
gene flow. The forest service would have information
provided by this project to assist them in their decisions.
This project provides undergraduates with the opportunity to
contribute to a major and meaningful investigation that impacts
the conservation of small mammals. The selected student will use the hypervariable
region of the mtDNA D-loop region sequence as a measure of
genetic variability within and among populations.
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