Ph. D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

   

Office:     403 Life Sciences Building

Phone:   1-419-372-9240

Email:     jbouzat@bgsu.edu

   

Research:

Molecular ecology; Conservation genetics

   

Research and Personal Home Page

   

Research Interests:

Research in my lab focuses on three major areas: molecular ecology and conservation, population genetics, and molecular evolution. My main research goal is to understand the effects of ecological, demographic and environmental processes on the genetic variability of natural populations. Specific research topics include the effects of fragmentation and small population size on the genetic diversity of wild species; the relationship between genetic variability and fitness and its potential effects on the probability of extinction of natural populations; and the identification of Evolutionary Significant Units for conservation and natural resource management. Research in molecular evolution is focused on the origin and evolution of genes and gene families. My research lines combine the use of molecular genetic techniques, field studies on natural populations, and analytical tools in population genetics and molecular phylogenetics. Graduate students in my lab can choose to do their research in any area of evolutionary ecology, ecological a nd conservation genetics, and/or molecular evolution.

Selected Publications:

Bouzat, J.L., J.E. Johnson, J.E. Toepfer, S.A. Simpson, T.L. Esker and R.L. Westemeier. Beyond the beneficial effects of translocations in an effective tool for the genetic restoration of isolated populations (submitted).

Hoostal, M.J. and J.L. Bouzat. 2007. The modulating role of dissolved organic matter on spatial patterns of microbial metabolism in Lake Erie sediments. Microbial Ecology (in press).

Johnson, J.A., P. Dunn and J.L. Bouzat. 2007. Effects of population bottlenecks on demographic history revealed by comparisons of historic and contemporary populations of prairie chickens. Molecular Ecology (in press).

Swindell, W.R. and J.L. Bouzat. 2006. Selection and inbreeding: effects of inbreeding rate and inbreeding environment. Evolution 60: 1014-1022.

Swindell, W.R. and J.L. Bouzat. 2006. Ancestral inbreeding reduces the magnitude of inbreeding depression in Drosophila melanogaster. Evolution 60: 762-767.

Ross, J.D., A.D. Arndt, R.F. Smith, J.A. Johnson and J.L. Bouzat. 2006. Re-examination of the historical range of the Greater Prairie Chicken using provenance data and DNA analysis of museum collections. Conservation Genetics 7:735-750.

Swindell, W.R. and J.L. Bouzat. 2006. Inbreeding depression and male survivorship in Drosophila: implications for senescence theory. Genetics 172: 317-327.

Swindell, W. and J.L. Bouzat. 2006. Gene flow and adaptive potential in Drosophila melanogaster. Conservation Genetics 7(1): 79-89.

Swindell, W. and J.L. Bouzat. 2005. Modeling the adaptive potential of isolated populations: experimental simulations using Drosophila. Evolution 59: 2159-2169.

Amills, M., Jimenez, N., Riccardi, A., Fernandez-Arias, A., Guiral, J., Bouzat, J.L., Folch, J. and A. Sanchez. 2004. Allele lineage extinction in the Major Hisptocompatibility Complex class II DRB1 gene of the Spanish ibex, Capra pyrenaica. Heredity 93: 266-272.

Bouzat, J.L. and K. Johnson. 2004. Genetic structure among closely-spaced leks in a peripheral population of Lesser Prairie-chickens. Molecular Ecology 13: 499-505.

Bouzat, J.L. 2001. The importance of control populations for the identification and management of genetic diversity. Genetica 110: 109-115.

Giovambattista, G., M.V. Ripoli, P. Peral-Garcia and J.L. Bouzat. 2001. Indigenous domestic breeds as reservoirs of genetic diversity: the Argentine Creole Cattle. Animal Genetics 32: 240-247.

Bouzat, J.L. 2001. On form and substance in the life sciences. The Scientist 15(3): 39.

Bouzat, J.L. 2001. The population genetic structure of the greater rhea (Rhea americana) in an agricultural landscape. Biological Conservation 99: 277-284.

Bouzat, J.L., L.K. McNeil, H.M. Robertson, L.F. Solter, J. Nixon, J.E. Beever, H.R. Gaskins, G. Olsen, Subramaniam, M.L. Sogin and H.A. Lewin. 2000. Phylogenomic analysis of the alpha proteasome gene family from early diverging eukaryotes. Journal of Molecular Evolution 51: 532-543.

Westemeier, R.L., J.D. Brawn, S.A. Simpson, T.L. Esker, R.W. Jansen, J.W. Walk, E.L. Kershner, J.L. Bouzat and K.N. Paige. 1998. Tracking the long term decline and recovery of an isolated population. Science 282: 1695-1698 (commented in Science 282: 1658-1659 by M.E. Soulé and L.S. Mills).

Bouzat, J.L., H.A. Lewin and K.N. Paige. 1998. The ghost of genetic diversity past: historical DNA analysis of the Greater Prairie Chicken. The American Naturalist 152: 1-6 (commented in Science 227: 1204-1205).

Bouzat, J.L., H.H. Cheng, H.A. Lewin, R.L. Westemeier, J. Brawn and K.N. Paige. 1998. Genetic evaluation of a demographic bottleneck in the Greater Prairie Chicken. Conservation Biology 12: 836-843.