Melanie E.F. LaCava

University of California, Davis | UCD · Department of Animal Science

Adaptation to captivity in spawning programs can lead to unintentional consequences, such as domestication that results in reduced fitness in the wild. The timing of sexual maturation has been shown to be a trait under domestication selection in fish hatcheries, which affects a fish's access to mating opportunities and aligning their offspring's de...

Urbanization is decreasing wildlife habitat and connectivity worldwide, including for apex predators, such as the puma (Puma concolor). Puma populations along California’s central and southern coastal habitats have experienced rapid fragmentation from development, leading to calls for demographic and genetic management. To address urgent conservati...

Urbanization is decreasing wildlife habitat and connectivity worldwide, including for apex predators, such as the puma ( Puma concolor ). Puma populations along California’s central and southern coastal habitats have experienced rapid fragmentation from development, leading to calls for demographic and genetic management. To address urgent conserva...

Infectious diseases play an important role in wildlife population dynamics by altering individual fitness, but detecting disease-driven natural selection in free-ranging populations is difficult due to complex disease-host relationships. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal infectious prion disease in cervids for which mutations in a single gen...

Maintaining functional connectivity is critical for the long‐term conservation of wildlife populations. Landscape genomics provides an opportunity to assess long‐term functional connectivity by relating environmental variables to spatial patterns of genomic variation resulting from generations of movement, dispersal and mating behaviors. Identifyin...

Species range expansions and contractions can have ecological and genetic consequences, and thus are important areas of study for conservation. Hybridization and introgression are not uncommon in closely related populations that experience secondary contact during a range expansion. Allen’s Hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin) in California comprises tw...

In the original publication of the article, the Acknowledgements section was published incorrectly. The correct Acknowledgements section is given in this Correction.

Species' distributions are often discontinuous near the edge of the range where the environment may be more variable than the core of the range. Range discontinuity can reduce or cut off gene flow to small peripheral populations and lead to genetic drift and subsequent loss of genetic diversity. The southern extent of the Great Gray Owl (Strix nebu...

Preserving connectivity in the core of a species' range is crucial for long-term persistence. However, a combination of ecological characteristics, social behavior, and landscape features can reduce connectivity among wildlife populations and lead to genetic structure. Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana), for example, exhibit fluctuating herd dynamic...

Advances in DNA sequencing have made it feasible to gather genomic data for non‐model organisms and large sets of individuals, often using methods for sequencing subsets of the genome. Several of these methods sequence DNA associated with endonuclease restriction sites (various RAD and GBS methods). For use in taxa without a reference genome, these...

Advances in DNA sequencing have made it feasible to gather genomic data for non-model organisms and large sets of individuals, often using methods for sequencing subsets of the genome. Several of these methods sequence DNA associated with endonuclease restriction sites (various RAD and GBS methods). For use in taxa without a reference genome, these...

Understanding reproductive behavior of sensitive species is crucial for their conservation. The Delta Smelt Hypomesus transpacificus is a federally threatened, state-endangered fish whose reproductive behavior is poorly understood. We used genetic techniques to investigate the spawning behavior of cultured Delta Smelt in a conservation hatchery. We...

Fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) regulates amidated lipid transmitters, including the endocannabinoid anandamide and its N-acyl ethanolamine (NAE) congeners and transient receptor potential channel agonists N-acyl taurines (NATs). Using both the FAAH inhibitor PF-3845 and FAAH(-/-) mice, we present a global analysis of changes in NAE and NAT metab...