Simone Sommer
Professor, Evolutionary Ecology, University of Potsdam/GermanyLeibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research
Evolutionary Genetics
Alfred Kowalke Strasse 10
Berlin, 10315
Germany
Website
Abstracts (first author)
Ecology, immunogenomics and pathogen resistance in wildlife populations
Summary:
In order to protect functional biodiversity and ecosystem services we need healthy populations depending on healthy environments. Understanding the complex interactions that occur between human-induced environmental changes, pathogen pressure and transmission, the potential of host adaptive genetic diversity in host-pathogen co-evolutionary processes and disease resistance is a challenging task. It requires an interdisciplinary approach which should aim to integrate knowledge from evolutionary theory, behavioral ecology, conservation biology and conservation genomics. Next generation sequencing is revolutionizing conservation research and the new technologies are likely to replace traditional genotyping methods to a great extent in the near future. We are able to address questions in non-model organism whose answers seemed out of reach just a few years ago. In my talk, I will illustrate recent advances, challenges and pitfalls of current developments in evolutionary conservation. Specifically, I will address 1) The effects of behavioral strategies in shaping the adaptive potential and its fitness-relevance 2) The effects of human induced changes on pathogen pressure 3) The functional importance of adaptive variability of endangered species in host-pathogen co-evolutionary processes and pathogen resistance 4) The current challenges and pitfalls of next generation sequencing approaches in conservation genomics