AFS GENETICS SECTION NEWSLETTER
December 2005
Volume 18, Issue 4
Contents
President’s Message •
Hybridization Symposium
Proposal • Minutes of the 2005 AFS Genetics Section Annual Meeting
• Fish in the News •
Tech Job Announcement • Aquatic Genetics PhDships
• Submit News to AFSGS • Upcoming Events
President’s Message
Hello Section Members,
The Genetics Section is again considering sponsoring one or more symposia at
next year’s annual meeting to be held in Lake Placid, New York from 10-14
September 2006. Please submit your ideas for symposia to me by 9 January 2006;
the initial AFS submission deadline for symposium proposals is 13 January.
Symposium organizers will be notified of acceptance or refusal by 3 February,
and organizers of those accepted must submit a complete list of all confirmed
speakers and titles to AFS by 24 February. (According to the AFS website,
abstracts for contributed presentations are due 10 February.) Guidelines for
symposium abstract and presentation format can be found in the October issue of
Fisheries, on p. 42 (see also the AFS website, http://www.fisheries.org, for the
latest updates).
President-Elect Ed Heist has provided a brief description of a proposed
symposium on hybridization below. Please let Ed or me know if you are interested
in contributing to this or another symposium and, if so, provide us with a
tentative title. We welcome other wide-ranging ideas in fish genetics!
The rest of the Section’s recent activities are covered below in the minutes
from the Anchorage meeting in September.
As always, feel free to contact me anytime about Section or Society matters,
and I’ll do my best to address your concerns.
Sincerely,
Jeff Hard, AFS Genetics Section President
Hybridization Symposium Proposal
“The Role of Hybridization
in Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation of Fishes”
Suggested Symposium for AFS
2006, Lake Placid, NY
Hybridization has
important implications for management, conservation, and evolution of fishes.
Hybridization can be harmful when it erodes the genetic distinctiveness between
species or reduces the frequency of adaptive phenotypes, sometimes leading to
the extinction of species with relatively small population sizes. Human
activities, including stock transfer, habitat alteration, and exploitation may
increase the incidence of hybridization, although the magnitudes of these
effects are hard to quantify. The presence of hybrids also complicates
management decisions and legislation. Hybridization can also be a natural
component of the evolution of fish communities by fostering the exchange of
genes among nascent species that are not fully reproductively isolated and may
also result in the evolution of new species. In this symposium we will seek to
bring together experts from a variety of disciplines including genetics,
morphology, management, and conservation to discuss the impacts of hybridization
on natural populations of fishes. Topics for discussion include the detection
of hybridization and identification of hybrids using molecular and morphological
tools, the impact of hybridization on endangered species and endangered species
policies, strategies for preserving the genetic integrity of native fishes
through elimination of hybrids and non-native fishes, the role of hybridization
in the evolution and speciation of fishes, and case studies of the management
practices and roles that natural and manmade hybrid fishes play in aquatic
ecosystems.
Ed and Jeff welcome help on
this symposium, particularly in organizing, logistics and presentation ideas.
If you would like to volunteer, please contact him! -
Editor
Symposium Organizers:
Ed Heist
Fisheries and Illinois Aquaculture Center
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
edheist@siu.edu
Jeff Hard
Program Manager, Population Biology
Conservation Biology Division
Northwest Fisheries Science Center
Seattle Washington
Jeff.Hard@noaa.gov
Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the AFS Genetics
Section
AFS 2005
Anchorage, AK
September 12, 2005
Attending:
Brandon Barthel, Meredith
Bartron, Joel Carlin, Julie Claussen, Jeff Hard, Ed Heist, Orlay Johnson, Andrew
Kinziger, Bernie May, Kathleen Neely, Jennifer Nielson, David Philipp, Ruth
Phillips, Wes Porak, Kristina Ramstad, Aaron Schrey, Jim Seeb, Lisa Seeb, Jeff
Stein, Bill Templin, Fred Utter , Bob Wattendorf
1) Call to Order
- President Jeff Hard (JJH) called the meeting to order at 5PM. More than 15
Section members were present; thus quorum was established.
2) President’s Introductory Remarks
– JJH attended the Governor’s Board meeting and noted the following topics were
discussed:
a) The Fisheries
InfoBase program was on track for listing all AFS publications online and
searchable by late October. There were plans to include some AFS books as well.
b) A resolution was
discussed to develop a committee on “Fisheries Development and Sustainability”
to be composed of AFS members from multiple disciplines and units.
3) Secretary/treasurer’s report
– Kitty Griswold was unable to attend the meeting but provided JJH with a
written report. The report is as follows:
As of 7/29/2005 the Genetics
Section has a balance of $4935.40. We began the fiscal year (08/01/04) with
$3049.00. The Genetics Section received income from three sources- member dues,
the Great Lakes symposium, and a SNP Workshop held in Anchorage, Alaska by Jim
and Lisa Seeb. Member dues accounted for $985, the Great lakes symposium
accounted for $1,204, and the SNP workshop netted approximately $700 to the
section. Expenses fell into three categories, awards ($100), website fees ($200)
and student scholarships ($800). Because the Section was in a good financial
position this year, two scholarships were awarded.
Jim Seeb noted that the SNP
workshop was a good recruiting tool for the section. There were 55 attendees at
the meeting. Information about the workshop will be posted on the Section web
site.
4. Standing Committees
Nominating Committee
– In her role as past president of the section Lisa Seeb will be looking for
nominees for Secretary/Treasurer and President-Elect.
Program Committee
– The section was sponsoring or co-sponsoring three symposia at the Anchorage
meeting:
1) The Evolution and
Ecology of Biocomplexity as a Key to Fisheries Sustainability,
moderated by Lorenz Hauser, Lisa Seeb, Jim Seeb, and Jeff Olsen.
2) The Future of
Conservation Genetics: Integrating Molecular and Quantitative Genetic
Approaches, moderated by Jeff Hard and Paul Moran
3) Science Bridging
Five Nations: The Bering-Aleutian Salmon International Survey, moderated by Jim
Seeb, Jack Helle, and Kate Myers. The second half of the Bering-Aleutian
symposium was dominated by genetics presentations
5. Ad Hoc Committees
Newsletter Committee
– JJH thanked Joel Carlin for increasing the number of newsletters to four per
year and encouraged new submissions for the next newsletter due out October or
November, 2005.
Membership
– Ed Heist (EJH) reported that membership currently stood at 196 members not
including eleven new members recruited at the SNP workshop. EJH noted that it
was important that the Section retain membership above 200 members to retain
voting rights with the Society. Jennifer Neilson (JLN) noted that there a new
membership database will be in place soon at Bethesda allowing the Section
president to check membership online.
Web-site
– JJH noted that Jeff Stein
has done a lot of work and made considerable improvement to the Section web
page. Jeff Stein noted that the web page consists almost entirely of the
newsletter and encouraged members to submit material for the web page directly
to him.
Awards
–
1) Wright Award –
JHH noted that because of the good financial standing of the section there were
two travel awards given this year. Winners of the Wright Travel Award were
Kristina Ramstad of the University of Montana and Aaron Schrey of Southern
Illinois University.
2) Phelps Award – The
Phelps Award committee, which was comprised of Fred Utter, Bernie May, and Ken
Currens, announced that the winning manuscript was “Reproductive performance of
growth-enhanced transgenic coho salmon” by Cindy Bessey, Robert H. Devlin, N.
Robin Liley, and Carlo Biagi, Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 133 (5): 1205-1220.
Publications
– JHH noted that there are a number of new books out by AFS including “The
Behavior and Ecology of Pacific Salmon and Trout” by Thomas Quinn, “Black Carp:
Biological Synopsis and Risk Assessment of an Introduced Fish” by Leo G. Nico,
James D. Williams, and Howard L. Jelks, and “Monitoring Stream and Watershed
Restoration” edited by Philip Roni. A publication is in preparation as a result
of the 2004 Propagated Fish in Resource Management meeting, which was attended
by section member Anthony Gharrett. Also the genetics text “Population
Genetics: Principles and Applications for Fisheries Scientists” edited by Eric
Hallerman is still selling well and the perennial question of whether the
section would receive royalties from this publication was raised.
6. Old Business
Lisa Seeb noted that the SNP
workshop was a success and suggested that another should soon be planned,
perhaps in a different part of the country.
As discussed at the 2004
meeting the “Florida Genetics Policy in the use of Finfish” was reviewed by
section members JHH, EJH, John Epifanio and Fred Utter. Wes Porak noted that
Mike Tringali is spearheading the revision process in preparation for a November
3 meeting.
7. New Business
World Fisheries Congress
– JLN noted that proceedings are in preparation from the last congress. The
next meeting will be in Sapporo, Japan in 2008 and may have a science-oriented
component.
Symposia for Lake Placid 2006
– EJH suggested a symposium entitled “The Role of Introgressive Hybridization
in Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation of Fishes.”
T-shirts
– No new business regarding t-shirts. It was noted that the Ray Troll artwork
used at the Anchorage meeting were property of AFS and could potentially be used
as part of the design for a section t-shirt.
8. Adjournment
– The meeting was adjourned at
6:00 PM.
Fish in the News
Tiny Catfish Species Pulls Back From Near-Extinction
November 14, 2005; Release
from: Knoxville News Sentinel
A species of tiny catfish once
thought extinct has rebounded in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and
Cherokee National Forest after nearly two decades of recovery efforts.
The 3-inch smoky madtom was
only discovered in Abrams Creek in the Smokies in 1957 — after a routine fish
kill was conducted to reduce the rough fish population and improve trout
fishing. Scientists thought they had wiped out the newly discovered species.
The fish was believed to be
extinct until 1980, when a group of researchers from the University of Tennessee
discovered them in Citico Creek in the Cherokee National Forest.
"A species thought to be
extinct was rediscovered," said Jim Herrig, an aquatic biologist for the forest.
"We now have two strong populations, one in Citico, one in Abrams, and we're
making good progress on Tellico (River)."
The madtom's recovery efforts
began in 1986, when eggs were collected from the Citico by Conservation
Fisheries, a private, nonprofit hatchery in Knoxville. They began releasing the
raised fish in both the Tellico River in the Cherokee National Forest and Abrams
Creek.
After years of frustration,
scientists are starting to see the return, with snorkeling surveys revealing
high numbers of fish less than a year old in all three sites.
On Sept. 21, biologists
observed five wild-spawned smoky madtoms in the Tellico. They have only been
stocking that site for two years.
"This has been a historic
summer for the smoky madtom," said Pat Rakes of Conservation Fisheries. "For the
first time since the species was thought to be extinct, there are three known
reproducing populations."
"Snorkeling Abrams Creek used
to be the most frustrating thing in the world," said J.R. Shute with the
fisheries. "Now we go there and see more wild-spawned fish than we do our own."
Scientists also are working to
bring back some other small, federally listed fishes: the yellowfin madtom,
duskytail darter and spotfin chub.
DNA
Technician Position Available at U Florida
I am looking for an energetic,
well-organized person to join me at a new conservation genetics lab located at
the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences in the University of Florida in
Gainesville. The molecular technologist will contribute to a variety of
conservation genetic projects involving a wide-variety of terrestrial and
aquatic organisms. Examples include the study of the genetics of endemism,
landscape genetics, and various phylogenetic and phylogeographic projects.
Specific responsibilities will
be standard molecular lab work (e.g. DNA isolation, PCR, sample preparation for
sequencing, editing sequence data and scoring fragment markers). Skills in
construction and cloning of microsatellite and gene libraries, using genomic
software and search tools, and running phylogenetic and population genetic
software are required. General responsibilities will include maintaining
databases, overseeing lab duties, assisting in student training, and ordering
supplies. Opportunities to assist in fieldwork will also be available.
Pre-requisite is a M.Sc. in a molecular biology field or a minimum of a B.Sc. in
related field with at least one year of experience in a molecular biology or
molecular systematics environment, with working knowledge of standard molecular
lab protocols. Neatness, attention to detail, good organizational skills and
ability to manage people are a must. Occasional weekend/evening hours will be
necessary.
Gainesville is a historic
mid-sized (120,000) college town with plenty to offer those interested in the
outdoors, wildlife, and the arts. Gainesville is within two hours of
Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa and Tallahasee, and one hour from either coast.
This is a three-year position,
thereafter renewable on an annual basis upon availability of funding. Salary is
$30,000 plus benefits.
Applications accepted through
15 January 2006. Start date is expected to be February or March 2006.
Inquiries should be made to
Dr. Jim Austin at jda34@cornell.edu until the end of 2005; in Gainesville in
January 2006 (see
http://fishweb.ifas.ufl.edu/).
Please send (email) a letter
expressing interest, your CV and names of three references. Applicants will also
be required to formally apply through the University of Florida employment
site:
http://jobs.ufl.edu/
James Austin Ecology and
Evolutionary Biology Corson Hall Cornell University Ithaca, New York 14853-2701
rj223@bath.ac.uk
PhD Students Wanted for Aquatic Genetics Projects!
U Bath - Crustacean Phylogenetics
Full-time 3 year PhD position
in crustacean phylogenetics, Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University
of Bath, UK.
We are looking for a highly
motivated student interested in participating in an integrative research project
aimed at reconstructing the phylogeny of the Crustacea. Among the arthropods,
the crustaceans hold special status as the morphologically and ecologically most
diverse group. However, a consensus on their high level relationships remains
elusive. Moreover, recent phylogenetic evidence hints at the possibility that
the most species-rich arthropod group, the hexapods (including insects), has
evolved from somewhere within the crustaceans. This project will simultaneously
attempt to resolve the broad relationships within the Crustacea, and determine
the phylogenetic position of the hexapods within the crustaceans. The student
will mainly focus on generating and analysing a large molecular data set
comprising multiple genes for a large and diverse sample of crustaceans and
their close relatives. The accumulated data will be combined with published
molecular evidence, as well as evidence from morphology and fossils. The project
will provide all the essential practical and theoretical training necessary for
the candidate to become a modern comparative biologist.
Candidates should have a
degree in Biology, Biochemistry, or a closely related discipline. Excellent lab
skills are essential. The project will be supervised by
Dr. Matthew Wills and
Dr. Ronald Jenner.
Those interested can send
informal inquiries, or a cv with 2 references via e-mail or mail to Matthew
Wills or Ronald Jenner at the Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University
of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK.
Application deadline is 16
January 2005.
Evolutionary Genetics - UNC Chapel Hill.
The Department of Biology at
UNC-CH has recently added a number of new faculty in the area of evolutionary
genetics (and other areas of evolutionary biology) and we encourage
applications for graduate study next fall.
Evolutionary genetics lies at
the interface of molecular biology and organismal biology. Those interested in
such an interdisciplinary approach can pursue research in multiple different
laboratories spanning these techniques. See the following web site detailing
this program interface and links to the faculty:
http://www. bio.unc.edu/graduate/interdiscipline.htm
Snail population genetics - U Melbourne
Mediterranean white and
conical snails (Cernuella virgata, Theba pisana and Cochlicella
spp.) are significant pests of grain crops in coastal regions of southern
Australia. Existing control methods, including burning of stubble prior to
sowing crops, cabling to dislodge snails from aestivation sites, biological
control (parasitoid of conical snails only) and chemical control have been only
partially successful. A method of snail control that reduces our reliance on
chemical pesticides and is species-specific would be highly desirable. The
current project will investigate the genetic structure of the pest snail
populations and reproductive strategy, in order to determine the suitability for
future genetic control methods. The project is a joint venture between CSIRO,
The University of Melbourne and the Grains Research and Development Corporation.
The PhD student will be based
at the University of Melbourne Department of Genetics and will receive training
in field work, molecular techniques and population genetics. The student will be
required to undertake field work in South Australia and this necessitates a
valid Drivers Licence. Applicants will have a bachelor’s degree with honours in
biological science (specifically genetics). This is a full-time scholarship with
a maximum of 3 years funding available, contingent on satisfactory progress. The
stipend is valued at AUD$25,000 per annum. To obtain further information contact
Dr Belinda Appleton (b.appleton@unimelb.edu.au)
or Dr Rod Mahon (Rod.Mahon@csiro.au).
Applications including a
curriculum vitae citing relevant studies and/or experience, a short statement of
research interests, the names and addresses of three professional referees, and
a copy of an official academic record/transcript should be forwarded as soon as
possible to Dr Belinda Appleton, Department of Genetics, The University of
Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia, 3010 or via email
b.appleton@unimelb.edu.au. Closing date for applications: Monday 19th
December 2005.
Your
Newsletter Submission Goes Here!
We welcome submissions for
section newsletters (Submission Deadline for the next issue is Jan 31).
Tell us of your new job, grant or species. Or, perhaps there is a suggestion you
would like to make to make the newsletter better? Please send news, concerns,
issues, etc. to the Newsletter Editor at carlinjl@whitman.edu.
Calendar of Upcoming Events
January 2006
Jan 4-8 — 2006 Annual Meeting
of SICB, the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. Walt
Disney World Resort, Orlando, FL. Symposia include “Genomic and Proteomic
Approaches in Crustacean Biology.” See
www.sicb.org/meetings /2006/index.php3.
Jan 9 — Submit your AFS
Genetics Symposium proposal ideas to Jeff Hard at
Jeff.Hard@noaa.gov.
Jan 9 — Full proposal target
dates for NSF program in both Population and Evolutionary Processes and
Systematic Biology. See
www.nsf.gov
Jan 10 — Abstract deadline for
20th annual meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology, Conservation
Without Borders, June 24–28 in San Jose, California. See
http://conbio.net/2006/Index.cfm.
Jan 15 — Grant application
deadline for the NSA Student Research Grant from the Northwest Scientific
Association. See
http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/ org_NWS/NWSci_Home.htm.
Jan 25 — Salmon 2100
Project: Alternative Futures for Wild Pacific Salmon in Western North America,
Portland, OR. Contact Robert Lackey,
lackey. robert@epa.gov, 541/754-4607.
Jan 31 — Submission
deadline for AFS Genetics Society Newsletter. Send articles / ideas to the
Editor at
carlinjl@whitman.edu.
Jan 31 — Travel award deadline
for 20th annual meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology,
Conservation Without Borders, June 24–28 in San Jose, California. See
http://conbio.net/2006/Index.cfm.
February 2006
Feb 1 — Abstract deadline for
IX International Symposium on Genetics in Aquaculture (ISGA) to be held
June 26-30 at Montpelier, France. See
http://www.mediaqua.fr/IAGA/web/general_information/index.htm.
Feb 13-16 — Aquaculture
America 2006, Las Vegas, Nevada. See
www.was.org/Meetings/pdf/AA206RegBrochure.pdf, Contact 760/432-4270.
Feb 15 — Abstract deadline for
VIIth International Congress on the Biology of Fish, to be held 18-22
July at Fairmont Hotel, St. John’s Newfoundland Canada. See
http://www.mun.ca/biology/icbf7/index.html.
Feb 15 — Abstract deadline for
the 1st European Congress of Conservation Biology to be held
22-26 August, Eger, Hungary. See
http://www. eccb2006.org/.
Feb 15 — Full proposal target
date for NSF program in Biological Oceanography. See
www.nsf.gov
Feb 20-24 — Ocean Sciences
2006, the joint meeting of ASLO, AGU, TOS. Honolulu, Hawaii. See
www.agu.org/meetings/os06/.
March 2006
Mar 1 — Abstract deadline for
Ecological Society of America’s annual meeting, Memphis Tennessee. See
http://www.esa.org/memphis/.
Mar 1 — Early registration
deadline for IX International Symposium on Genetics in Aquaculture (ISGA)
to be held June 26-30 at Montpelier, France. See
http://www.mediaqua.fr/IAGA/web/general_information/index.htm.
Mar 6-8 — Annual meeting of
the Northwest Scientific Association, Grove Hotel, Boise Idaho. See
http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/org_NWS/NWSci_Home.htm.
Mar 15 — Early registration
deadline for VIIth International Congress on the Biology of Fish, to be
held 18-22 July at Fairmont Hotel, St. John’s Newfoundland Canada. See
http://www.mun.ca/biology/icbf7/index.html.
Mar 15 — Remind your
students! Sigma Xi Grants-in-Aid graduate student grant application
deadline. Visit the
http://www.sigmaxi.org/programs/ giar/index.shtml for details.
Mar 31 — Grant application
deadline for the Society of Systematic Biologists’ Mini-PEET Awards to
Enhance Transfer of Taxonomic Knowledge. See
http://systbiol.org/minipeet.html.
Mar 31 — Grant
application deadline for the Society of Systematic Biologists Awards for
Graduate Student Research. See
http://systbiol.org/ studentaward.html.
April-June 2006
Apr 13-15 — 53rd
annual meeting of SWAN, the Southwestern Association of Naturalists,
Universidad de Colima, Colima, Col. México. See
http://www.ibiologia.unam.mx/barra/congresos/naturalis/sanindex.htm.
Apr 21-23 — The evolutionary
biologists of the Pacific Northwest will meet at EVO-WIBO 2006 at Fort
Worden State Park in Port Townsend, Washington. See
http://www.zoology.ubc.ca/evo-wibo/index.html.
Apr 30 — Early registration
deadline for the 1st European Congress of Conservation Biology
to be held 22-26 August, Eger, Hungary. See
http://www.eccb2006.org/.
May 9-13 — Aquaculture 2006,
Joint meeting of the European Aquaculture Society and the World Aquaculture
Society. Florence, Italy. See
www.was.org.
May 23-27 — "Get your kicks in
2006" Annual meeting of the Society for the Preservation of Natural History
Collections. Sheraton Old Town, Albuquerque, New Mexico. See
http://www.spnhc.org/.
Jun 4-9 — American Society
of Limnology and Oceanography Summer Meeting: Global Challenges Facing
Oceanography and Limnology, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. See
http://aslo.org/meetings/victoria2006/.
Jun 23-27 — Evolution 2006,
the joint meeting of the American Society of Naturalists, the Society of
Systematic Biologists and the Society for the Study of Evolution, at State
University of New York at Stony Brook, New York. See
http://life.bio.sunysb.edu/ee/sse2006/.
Jun 24–28 — 20th annual
meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology, Conservation Without
Borders, in San Jose, California. See
http://conbio.net/2006/Index.cfm.
Jun 26-30 — IX International
Symposium on Genetics in Aquaculture (ISGA), Montpelier, France. See
http://www.mediaqua.fr/IAGA/web/general_information/index.htm.
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