Date of Award

2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Saarinen, Emily

Area of Concentration

Biology

Abstract

By fragmenting natural habitats and reducing population sizes of many organisms planetwide, humans have disrupted normal evolutionary processes. Conservation geneticists use molecular markers to study the impact of habitat fragmentation and destruction on the genetic structure of species, searching for signatures of inbreeding and loss of genetic diversity in order to better manage imperiled species. In this study, I attempted to develop microsatellite markers for the Florida Duskywing skipper (Ephyriades brunnea), a vulnerable skipper butterfly that is a specialist in pine rocklands habitat, a globally-imperiled ecosystem type. Development and testing of these microsatellite markers is ongoing. To guide future analyses, I consider the ways in which conservation genetics studies can and should guide species management policy. I provide suggestions for improved communication and implementation of conservation genetics findings in management decisions. Finally, I lay out hypotheses for the genetic structure of E. brunnea, and suggest management choices based on these hypothetical findings.

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