Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Earth & Marine Sciences A308
Phone: 831.459.5358
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DEVON PEARSE Adjunct Professor of EEBiology B.A. University of California, Santa Cruz Ph.D. University of Georgia PEARSE LAB

Fisheries Ecology Division Southwest Fisheries Science Center 110 Shaffer Road Santa Cruz, CA 95060 phone 831.420.3906 fax 831.420.3977 devon.pearse@noaa.gov office hours

Evolutionary & Ecological Genetics, Conservation Biology

I am interested in a broad range of topics under the general umbrella of evolutionary genetics, and my previous publications generally reflect my research interests. As part of the Molecular Ecology and Genetic Analysis Team at the NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science Center, our research group studies the ecological and evolutionary aspects of genomic variability in natural populations of marine and anadromous fisheries species. Recent work has focused on gene flow and evolutionary relationships of Pacific salmonids, Oncorhynchus, as well as rockfish of the genus Sebastes. In addition, I am interested in understanding the conceptual aspects of population genetics and their influence on the maintenance of genetic diversity in both natural and conservation breeding situations.

Note to potential students and collaborators:
If you are interested in working on a current project in our laboratory or developing a new project together, please contact me. As an adjunct faculty member in the EEB department I can serve on graduate student committees, sponsor Masters students, and advise PhD students with an appropriate faculty co-advisor. Funding, preferably in the form of a fellowship or grant, will greatly facilitate admission.

Selected Publications

Pearse, D. E. & Anderson, E. C. In Press. Multiple paternity increases effective population size. Molecular Ecology.

Pearse, D. E., Donohoe, C. J., & Garza, J. C. 2007. Population genetics of steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the Klamath River. Environmental Biology of Fishes 80:377-387.

Pearse, D. E., Wooninck, L., Dean, C. A., & Garza, J. C. 2007. Identification of Northeastern Pacific rockfish (Sebastes spp.) using multilocus nuclear DNA genotypes. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 136:272-280.

Pearse, D. E., Arndt, A. D., Valenzuela, N., Miller, B. A., Cantarelli, V., & Sites, J. W. Jr. 2006. Estimating population structure under non-equilibrium conditions in a conservation context: Continent-wide population genetics of the giant Amazon river turtle Podocnemis expansa (Chelonia; Podocnemidae). Molecular Ecology 15:985-1006.

Shurtliff, Q. R., Pearse, D. E., & Rogers, D. S. 2005. Parentage analysis and breeding dispersal distances in the canyon mouse (Peromyscus crinitus): genetic evidence of monogamy and polyandry. Journal of Mammalogy 86: 531-54.

Pearse, D. E. & Crandall, K. A. 2004. Beyond Analysis of population genetic data for conservation. Conservation Genetics 5: 585-602.

Pearse, D. E., Janzen, F. J., & Avise, J. C. 2002. Multiple paternity, sperm storage, and reproductive success of female and male painted turtles ( Chrysemys picta) in nature.Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 51:164-171.

Pearse, D. E., Eckerman, C. M., Janzen, F. J., & Avise, J. C. 2001. A genetic analogue of 'Mark-Recapture' methods for estimating population size: An approach based on molecular parentage assessments.Molecular Ecology 10:2711-2718.

Pearse, D. E. & Pogson, G. 2000.  Phylogeography of the California legless lizard, Anniella pulchra: Evidence for parallel evolution of the melanistic morph. Evolution 54: 1041-1046.

Orti, G., Pearse, D. E., & Avise, J. C. 1997. Phylogenetic assessment of length variation at a microsatellite locus. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 94: 10745-10749.