Non-invasive Conservation Genetics of Snow Leopards: a Review of Current Work and Defining Future Needs

Date and time: Wednesday, May 13, 2020 2:00 pm
Eastern Daylight Time (New York, GMT-04:00)

Program: Conservation Science Webinar Series

Panelist Info: Imogene Cancellare

Duration: 1 hour

Registration is required for this free event. 

Event Description

A clear understanding of the patterns and processes that shape snow leopard genetic diversity and population structure is critical for informing conservation decisions that will ensure the persistence of this species. However, despite being a keystone species for the fragile mountain ecosystems of High Asia, a comprehensive analysis of snow leopard genetic variation is lacking. Fortunately, advances in non-invasive fecal DNA analysis can help close these knowledge gaps. Here, I present the limited snow leopard genetic studies and highlight the research needed to provide defensible conservation units upon which local and collaborative conservation efforts can refocus. New efforts in conservation genetics research on snow leopards should focus on evolutionary history, contemporary patterns of genetic variability, and the interaction between landscape features and gene flow.

Presented by Imogene Cancellar

Imogene Cancellare is a PhD candidate in the Rare and Elusive Species Lab at the University of Delaware studying range-wide phylogeography and genetic connectivity of snow leopards. She has spent the last ten years as a carnivore ecologist and primarily uses molecular ecology techniques to address conservation questions. Her current research is supported by the NGO Panthera and involves extensive collaboration with researchers throughout Central Asia. She is a team member of the Panthera Conservation Genetics Program and has taught workshops on optimizing fecal DNA for molecular ecology research.