Research
EVOLUTIONARY CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
We live in an age of ever-increasing human impacts to natural ecosystems. To use natural resources more sustainably, and to slow the rate of loss of biodiversity, we therefore need to understand how organisms diverge and adapt to their environments, how this diversity is maintained, and how human activities alter this diversity. Research in the Fraser Lab involves testing fundamental hypotheses about processes underlying the origin and maintenance of biodiversity below or at species levels, by combining field, laboratory and molecular studies of natural fish populations. In most cases, this knowledge is applied towards more effective biodiversity conservation, fish and wildlife management, and more environmentally sustainable aquaculture. In a few cases, this knowledge is also used to evaluate the scientific basis underpinning prevailing conservation paradigms.
CHIEF RESEARCH TOPICS
1) Extent and scale of local adaptation within species
2) Conservation biology and evolutionary ecology of small populations
3) Fitness consequences of domesticated-wild hybridization
4) Genetics in species reintroductions and population monitoring
5) Evolutionary applications to captive breeding programs
6) Integrating traditional and scientific knowledge in biodiversity conservation
MAIN RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Extent and scale of local adaptation within species
What is the extent and scale of local adaptation within species? What are the main selective agents involved? Under what conditions do gene flow, genetic drift and/or phenotypic plasticity mediate or hinder local adaptation? To address these questions, we use evolutionarily-young populations of salmonid fishes as research models. There is an emphasis on integrating different approaches and tools, including phenotype-environment associations in the wild, common-garden experimentation, molecular genetic surveys and reciprocal transplantations. Information generated from this work is being applied towards recognizing, conserving and prioritizing diversity below species levels, as well as the processes that generate and maintain it.
Conservation biology and evolutionary ecology of small populations
As populations are increasingly fragmented by human activities, they decline and become smaller in size. Small, endangered populations are especially susceptible to inbreeding depression and a loss of genetic diversity. Do small populations always exhibit reduced adaptive potential, or do the environments that such populations inhabit also favour phenotypic plasticity? Are there consistent life history and behavioural attributes associated with small population size? Or are these attributes more variable relative to larger populations? Is it better to mix small fragmented populations to avoid inbreeding depression, or are these benefits outweighed by potential outbreeding depression?
Fitness consequences of domesticated-wild hybridization
There are growing concerns over the potentially negative fitness consequences of hybridization between domesticated and wild organisms (e.g. farmed and wild salmon). Such hybridization could both alter the genetic makeup of the wild organism and/or result in outbreeding depression. Does population divergence influence domesticated-wild hybrid fitness? Does hybridization alter or reduce phenotypic responses to environmental change or stressors? What is the duration of outbreeding depression? How can this knowledge be applied towards more effective domesticated-wild risk assessments?
Genetics in species reintroductions and population monitoring
Why are some species reintroductions successful and others unsuccessful? What influence do genetic factors have on enhancing or hindering species reintroduction efforts? What source populations should be used for reintroduction/ restoration projects and is this decision based on ‘adaptive-matching’? If hybrid populations can exhibit greater ‘invasiveness’ in invasive species biology, can active hybridizing of populations improve species restoration projects? My lab also continues to address how monitoring of population genetic metrics, such as effective population size and temporal gene flow, can provide insights into demographic and evolutionary processes in natural populations that are difficult to obtain using traditional methods.
Evolutionary applications to captive breeding programs
Captive breeding programs are increasingly being initiated to prevent the imminent extinction of endangered species and/or populations. But how well can they conserve genetic diversity and fitness, or re-establish self-sustaining populations in the wild? Is it better to maintain as much underlying genetic diversity in captive populations for the future, or the genetic diversity that is ‘working’ within the wild now (e.g. if captive-bred animals are temporarily exposed to natural selective pressures at some point during rehabilitation)? What are key approaches to reducing adaptation to captivity?
CURRENT/PAST RESEARCH COLLABORATORS
Dr. Jeffrey Hutchings, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
Dr. Louis Bernatchez, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
Dr. Michael M. Hansen, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
Dr. Friso Palstra, CRNS UMR, Paris, France
Dr. Jim Grant, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada
Dr. Patrick O’Reilly, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Halifax, NS, Canada
Dr. Anna Calvert, Environment Canada and Bird Studies Canada
Dr. David Veliz, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
Dr. Laura Weir, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Dr. Craig Purchase, Memorial University, St. John’s, NL, Canada
Dr. Chris Wilson, Trent University, Peterborough, ON, Canada
Dr. Eric Taylor, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Dr. Paul Bentzen, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
Dr. Moira Ferguson, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
Dr. David Hardie, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Halifax, NS, Canada
Dr. Coilin Minto, Irish Fisheries Institute, Galloway, Ireland
Jim Eddington, Aquatron Laboratory, Halifax, NS, Canada
CURRENT/PAST RESEARCH PROJECT PARTNERS OR SPONSORS:
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
Le Fonds Québécois de la recherche sure la nature et les technologies
Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO)
Parks Canada (Fundy National Park, New Brunswick)
Parks Canada (Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta)
Hydro Quebec, Niskamoon Corporation, Quebec
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR)
Concordia University, Faculty Optimization Program
Aquatron Laboratory, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS
Société de la faune et des parcs du Québec (FAPAQ)
Société des établissements de plein air du Québec (SEPAQ)
Ministère des ressources naturelles, QC
Department of Inland Fisheries, NS
Grand Council of the Crees of Québec
Cree Regional Authority
Cree Nation of Mistissini, QC
Cree Trapper’s Association, Mistissini, QC
Atlantic Salmon Federation
Ecology Action Centre, Halifax, NS
Trout Unlimited Canada
Trout Nova Scotia
Mountain Equipment Co-op
Eeyou Nemess Corporation
Barrette Chapais LtD
Osprey Excursions Reg’D, Mistissini, QC
Camp Louis Joliet, Mistissini, QC
Fonds Ecologique Anne Vallee
Fonds Richard Bernard
