Symposium number: 28

Title: DISPERSAL AND GENE FLOW IN POPULATIONS: LINKING MOLECULAR METHODS TO DIRECT OBSERVATIONS

Principal organizer: Arie J. van Noordwijk
Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Boterhoeksestraat 48, 6666 ZG Heteren, The Netherlands
email: a.vannoordwijk@nioo.knaw.nl

Second organizer: Erkki Korpimäki
Section of Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Turku, FIN-20014 Turku, Finland

First keynote speaker: Judith M. Rhymer
Associate Professor, Department of Wildlife Ecology, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA
Title of first keynote paper: How to infer population structure from molecular data.

Second keynote speaker: Arie J. van Noordwijk
Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Boterhoeksestraat 48, 6666 ZG Heteren, The Netherlands
Title of second keynote paper: Measuring natal dispersal as distance related recruitment rates

Contributed talks

Symposium description: One of the major unsolved problems in evolutionary theory is an understanding of the extent of genetic variation present in populations and the processes that affect it. In particular, the role of interactions among population size, population sub-structure and spatial heterogeneity on gene flow is poorly understood. It is known, nevertheless, that small populations with too little gene flow incur the risk of extinction through in-breeding depression, and that too much gene flow between rare and common forms can lead to loss of the former. Birds are well suited to studying such processes. On one hand, ringing allows direct observation of net distances moved between site of birth and site of reproduction. New methods for analyzing such data now largely eliminate previous problems of interpretation. On the other hand, the relative ease with which large quantities of DNA can be obtained from bird blood has led to extensive use of molecular methods to illuminate population structure at scales from breeding pairs to species populations.
The aim of this symposium is to connect knowledge of dispersal behaviour obtained from observed movements of individuals to the resulting patterns in population structure as revealed by various molecular methods. If this goal is not yet entirely possible, the symposium hopes to stimulate work to bridge the gap.

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