Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics News
January 14, 2013
As rapid economic expansion continues to shape the Asian landscape on which many species depend, time is running out for conservationists aiming to save wildlife such as tigers and leopards. Scientists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute have used genetic analysis to find that the natural forest corridors in India are essential to ensuring a future for these species. According to two studies recently published in two papers, these corridors are successfully connecting populations of tigers and leopards to ensure genetic diversity and gene flow.
Recent News
November 19, 2012
Very few Americans know much about the difference between their gravy-smothered poultry and the poultry that earlier generations of Americans ate to celebrate the holiday.
Smithsonian Scientists Find Female Coatis Help Offspring of Other Females
May 22, 2012
Unexpected Result Challenges Understanding of the role of kinship in mammals.
April 18, 2012
Researchers at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute have spent years developing genetic techniques that use more easily acquired samples, and their latest success uses scat, or feces, collected from wild leopards living in the highlands of India.
Human-Modified Habitats Shape Bird Mating Patterns
April 13, 2012
A new study suggests that changes by people in suburban environments can affect the number of breeding pairs, their selection of a mate and even shape how a species evolves.
February 8, 2012
Roche and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Washington, DC announced today a collaboration agreement to use Roche’s GS Junior benchtop sequencing system for research in SCBI’s Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics.
October 2011
New Genetic Evidence Confirms Coyote Migration Route to Virginia and Hybridization with Wolves
Researchers used DNA from coyote scat (feces) to trace the route that led some of the animals to colonize in Northern Virginia. The researchers also confirmed that, along the way, the coyotes interbred with the native Great Lakes wolves. 
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Scientists Determine Family Tree for Most-Endangered Bird Family in the World
Using one of the largest DNA data sets for a group of birds and employing next-generation sequencing methods, Smithsonian scientists and collaborators have determined the evolutionary family tree for one of the most strikingly diverse and endangered bird families in the world, the Hawaiian honeycreepers. Learn more
SCBI Scientists Confirm New Species of Seabird Discovered in the Hawaiian Islands
For the first time in decades, researchers have found a new bird species in the United States. Based on a specimen collected in 1963 on Midway Atoll, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, biologists have described a new species of seabird, Bryan’s shearwater (Puffinus bryani), according to differences in measurements and physical appearance compared to other species of shearwaters. Learn more
Endangered River Turtle's Genes Reveal Ancient Influence of Maya Indians
A genetic study focusing on the Central American river turtle (Dermatemys mawii) recently turned up surprising results for scientists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and collaborators involved in the conservation of this critically endangered species. Learn more
January 2011
Researchers at Smithsonian’s National Zoo were the first to identify and are the world leaders in research on the elephant herpesvirus, which threatens elephant populations worldwide. Elephants in captivity and in the wild are affected by this condition, which has been responsible for about half of the deaths of young elephants in zoos. Scientists are working hard to understand elephant herpesvirus, learn more about how it is passed among elephants, develop and improve treatments, and find a vaccine. |
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To study populations of Asiatic black bears in China, SCBI researchers collect fecal samples and monitor stress hormones. To find those fecal samples, they have harnessed the power of a dog's nose. |
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September 2010
| SCBI population biologists use state-of-the-art techniques to monitor the progress and genetics of golden lion tamarins reintroduced into the Atlantic coastal forest of Brazil. Learn more. |
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| Although the magnificent frigatebird may be the least likely animal on the Galapagos Islands to be unique to the area, it turns out the Galapagos population of this tropical seabird may be its own genetically distinct species warranting a new conservation status, according to a new paper by researchers. Learn more. |
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June 2010
New Genetics Laboratory Building Opens |
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| The Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics has moved into a newly renovated laboratory. The new facility will enable them to expand and deepen their research pursuits. | |
Scientists Look to Genetics to Help Elephants Ward off Disease |
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SCBI researchers worked with the Zoo's Asian elephants—Shanthi, Ambika, and Kandula—to learn more about the elephant immune system. Their research is helping them begin to think of new ways to protect elephants' health—both in zoos and in the wild from diseases that are devastating the world's elephant population. |
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