Paul L. Leberg

The application of theory from ecology, evolution, and population genetics to questions in wildlife management and conservation biology is of special interest to me. My work employs experimental approaches to gain understanding of interactions between genetic diversity, environmental variation, and population viability under natural conditions. Students in my laboratory are evaluating how well theory and laboratory observations involving founder effects, bottlenecks, inbreeding, and outbreeding predict viability of experimental populations of fish and small mammals. We are also assessing how genetic diversity on population level processes is affected by fluctuating and stressful environments. Environmental stresses include parasitism, competition, predation, heavy metals, temperature, and salinity. In addition to experimental studies, computer modeling is used to ascertain relationships between genetic diversity, environmental variation, population viability, and individual fitness. This research adds to our understanding of how genetic variation influences a population's ability to survive in the face of biotic and abiotic threats and provides insight into the management of vertebrates in small populations and the restoration of species to areas from which they have been extirpated.

My research interests also include the effects of human activities on the genetics, evolution and ecology of vertebrates. Genetic diversity is assessed in wildlife species, whose population structures have been altered by humans, and in experimentally manipulated populations maintained in simulated natural conditions. As part of this work, I am evaluating the relative power of different biochemical and molecular techniques to assess variation in genetic diversity within and among populations. Additionally, we are evaluating the utility of molecular markers, such as microsatellite loci, as tags for the study of individual movement and estimation of population size. My students and I are also examining the effects of habitat change, such as wetland loss and forest alteration, on several species of birds and bats.

Please visit my lab page!

Following are references to some recent publications from my laboratory:

Feel free to contact me at this address:
Paul L. Leberg, Department of Biology, PO Box 42451, Lafayette, LA 70504 or
pll6743@louisiana.edu Telephone: (337) 482-6637