Leslee Parr, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor Department of Biological Sciences San José State University Department of Biological Sciences One Washington Square San José, CA 95192-0100 Duncan Hall, Room 555 Telephone: (408) 924-4897 FAX: (408) 924-4840 E-mail: lparr@email.sjsu.edu

Courses Taught

• Biology 104A, The Natural History of California Animals
• Biol 118, Evolutionary Genetics (pdf) - Dr. Leslee Parr
• Biol 218, Evolution (pdf) - Dr. Leslee Parr
• Biol 255E, Conservation Genetics (pdf) - Dr. Leslee Parr
• MUSE 11E, The Nature of Human Life (MUSE)

Education

University of Washington, Seattle, WA, B.A., Zoology with Honors, Minor, Earth Science, 1979.

Southern Oregon University, Ashland, OR, M.S., Secondary Education: Science, 1986.
University of Guanajuato Outstanding Graduate Student Award.

Portland State University, Portland, OR, Ph.D., Environmental Sciences and Resources, 2000.

Professional Experience

Research

    My past research examined the DNA sequences of four mitochondrial genes (cytochrome b, the tRNAs threonine and proline, and the control region or D-loop) of the subungulates (aardvarks, hyraxes, elephants, manatees and dugongs). I have used my analyses of these sequences in three ways:

1. to elucidate the phylogenetic (evolutionary) relationships of the subungulates,
2. to test the morphologically based taxonomy of the three extant species of manatees,
3. to provide a database of genetic variation within and between manatee populations of all three species of manatees, this data is currently being used to,
   
   
   1. monitor and implement manatee recovery plans for both the West Indian and West African manatee species (no recovery plan has yet been devised for the Amazonian manatee),
   2. identify locations of origin of stranded West Indian manatees, so that these individuals can be rehabilitated and returned to their native habitat,
   3. identify, to species and regions of origin, suspected manatee products confiscated by customs and wildlife forensic agents, enabling enforcement of wildlife protection regulations.

    This research was completed at the U. S. Fish and Wildlife National Forensic Laboratory in Ashland, Oregon, as my doctoral dissertation work. I continued on at the National Laboratory for four years (until accepting my position at SJSU), serving as a resident scientist and as the proficiency examiner for the serology section of the laboratory.

      My current area of research is conservation genetics. Conservation genetics focuses on the problem of preserving genetic diversity in threatened or endangered species through population and habitat management. Informed management decisions require both estimates of genetic variation within the populations of concern and ongoing, qualitative assessment of changes in population size, connectedness, and genetic variability. My research is based on DNA sequencing, sequence analysis, and most recently, microsatellite analysis.

      West African manatees. I am actively involved in the acquisition, sequencing and analysis of West African manatee samples. I serve on the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) Sirenian (manatees and dugongs) Specialist Group and am one of the authors of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) West African Manatee Recovery Plan. I sequence and analyze West African manatee tissues acquired by IUCN field researchers in order to monitor implementation of the Recovery Plan.

      Dungeness crabs. Over the last five years I have also taken part in a second area of research which involves measuring the biogeography and larval dispersal of Dungeness crabs using mitochondrial DNA sequencing (my graduate students and I are now attempting to use microsatellite analysis in this research). I am collaborating on this work with Curtis Roegner, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and Alan Shanks, University of Oregon's Oregon Institute of Marine Biology. We propose to use analyses of genetic variability to investigate dispersal of the Dungeness crab, throughout its geographic range. Our investigations of crab dispersal have revealed that larvae are aggregated into patches at sea and recruit into estuarine systems in discreet pulses. We have developed a simple procedure for acquiring time series of larvae, and have archived five years of returning final stage larvae (megalopae). We have also successfully extracted, amplified, and sequenced the COI gene of the crab mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). We now propose to develop and use microsatellite markers for nuclear genome characterization. We will use microsatellite analysis in combination with mtDNA sequence analysis as a of measure genetic variability within and among populations of both adult and returning megalopae of C. magister. With these data, we will determine the biogeography of adult crab populations and elucidate the nature of larval dispersal of Dungeness crab throughout its range.
      The results of this study compiled with the available information on the dispersal distance of the propagules of other Pacific coast benthic marine organisms will be used for the development of criteria for the design, size, and spacing of proposed Pacific coast marine reserves.
      Two of my graduate students are working on this project for their M.S. thesis research.

      Thailand Dugongs: Recently I was invited to participate in a dugong conservation management program along the Andaman coast of Thailand in cooperation with Ellen Hines, Department of Environmental Geography, San Francisco State University and Kanjana Adulyanukosol, Marine Endangered Species Unit (MESU), Phuket Marine Biological Center, Phuket, Thailand.
      The dugong is a marine mammal found in coastal waters from east Africa to Australia. Once commonly seen, dugongs are now considered endangered. In 2001, Hines completed aerial surveys along the Andaman Sea of Thailand; her results indicate that only about 100 dugongs remain. Since 1996, Kanjana Adulyanukosol has performed necropsies on fatally stranded dugongs along the Andaman coast. In March 2002, Adulyanukosol visited SJSU and delivered these tissues to my lab for analysis.
My graduate student, Danielle Palmer, is performing microsatellite and DNA sequencing analysis on these tissues for her M.S. thesis.

Recent Abstracts and Papers

Professional Activities

Society for Marine Mammalogy
Estuarine Research Federation
Bay Area Biosystemists
Sigma Xi, Scientific Research Society
International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Sirenian
      Specialist Group
Board of Directors, WIRES (Women in Religion, Ethics, and the Sciences)

Graduate Students:

• Valliammal Chockalingam, M.S. Molecular Biology, 2001 - present. Genetic analysis of Dungeness crab larval dispersal and the effective size and spacing of marine reserves.
• Danielle Palmer, M.S. Organismal Biology, 2001-present. Genetic characterization of Thailand Dugongs, implications for conservation.
• Amy Fontarensky, M.S. Organismal Biology, 2001-present. Genetic characterization of Congolese bonobo orphans, implications for re-introduction.
• Jimmy Yu, M.S. Molecular Biology, 2002-present. The design of gene prediction algorithms.
• Sonali Upadhye, M.S. Molecular Biology, 2002. Genetic analysis of Dungeness crab larval dispersal and the effective size and spacing of marine reserves.
• Corrine Lardy, M.S. Organismal Biology, 2003-present. Genetic characterization of Franciscana dolphins of Argentina, implications for conservation.

• Eleanor Zhou, M.S. Computer Science, 2002-present. (Major Advisor, Sami Khuri), Visualization package for the dynamic programming algorithm for pairwise alignment in bioinformatics.
• Claudia Morales, M.A. Molecular Biology, 2001-present. (Major Advisor John Boothby).

Curtis Roegner, National Marine Fisheries/ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Alan Shanks, University of Oregon Institute of Marine Biology
Ellen Hines, San Francisco State University
Kanjana Adulyanukosol, Phuket Marine Biological Center, Thailand
Sami Khuri, San José State University
Caryn Self Sullivan, Sirenian International
Juliana Vianna, Fabricio Rodrigues dos Satos, Instituto de Ciencias Biologicas,
      Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
Monica A. e Silva, Instituto da Conservacao da Naturenza, Portugal
Deborah Duffield, Portland State University
Steven Fain, U.S. Fish & Wildlife National Forensic Laboratory