Mr Paul
Nevill
PhD student
Topic: the development of gene
pool management strategies for Eucalyptus regnans
University of
Melbourne
Email: p.nevill@pgrad.unimelb.edu.au
The conservation of biological diversity is an
important consideration for the sustainable management of the
world's native forests. In Australia, sustainable management
strategies for eucalypt forests emphasise the importance of using
material for reforestation that conserve species patterns and gene
pools present before harvesting. But for many species, particularly
Eucalyptus regnans (mountain ash), there is often a
shortage of appropriate seed, necessitating seed transferral
between geographic regions. My research will assist in the
development of gene pool management strategies for E.
regnans and improve the sustainable management of E.
regnans genetic resources.
Using DNA markers ("microsatellites") I will
examine the genetic diversity within and between natural
populations of E. regnans from across its natural
geographic range. These base-line data will be used to monitor the
effect of current regeneration practices on genetic diversity in
native forests and breeding / deployment populations for
certification purposes.
I will also develop adaptive models for
identifying patterns of adaptive variation in E. regnans
using surrogate measurements such as climate, aspect and
geology.
I am currently writing up my PhD. I recently attended the
Systematics
2008 conference in Göttingen, Germany where I gave
both an oral presentation (view abstract)
and a poster presentation (view abstract)
on my work in the development of gene pool management strategies
for Eucalyptus (subgenus Eucalyptus) species.
My supervisors are
Dr Peter Ades and
Dr Gerd Bossinger (University of Melbourne).
The research is funded by and
Australian Postgraduate Award and the CRC for Forestry.
