Dr Jacqueline Bishop

Molecular evolution, population genetics and conservation biology
Phone: +27 (0)21 650 3631
Email: Jacqueline [dot] Bishop [at] uct [dot] ac [dot] za

Research Interests

Evolutionary Genetic Theory; Adaptive vs Neutral Genetic variation; Conservation Genetics; Molecular Evolution; Determinants of Effective Population Size 

My research interests centre on the use of molecular, behavioural and ecological data to understand the relative contributions of genetic drift and selection in shaping variation in natural populations of vertebrates. This involves a range of molecular and analytical approaches to elucidate evolutionary genetic history from the level of individuals and parentage assignment to the analysis of genes, populations and species. I have an ongoing interest in the evolutionary drivers of mate choice behaviour, together with understanding the relative importance of adaptive genetic variation in free-living populations, and working within this framework I use a number of taxa as models to test current theories. These have included crocodiles, rhinoceros, baboons and mole-rats, and more recently seabirds, bats and marine fish.

 

Collaborative Research Projects:

Phylogeny and phylogeography of the chacma baboon. A/Prof Rebecca Ackermann, UCT 

The use of conservation genetic approaches to inform management of the Cape Peninsula chacma baboon. A/Prof Justin O’Riain, UCT  

The evolution of olfactory receptor diversity in African mole-rats. Prof Nigel Bennett, University of Pretoria & Dr Colleen O’Ryan, UCT 

The role of landscape evolution in the population genetic history of Nile crocodiles. Dr Woody Cotterill, Africa Earth Observatory Network (AEON) & Dr Alison Leslie, University of Stellenosch

Conservation genetics of South African herpetofauna. Dr Krystal Tolley & Dr John Measey, South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) 

The roles of selection and drift in the evolution of variation in bat echolocation. A/Prof David Jacobs, University of Cape Town. 

Estimating contemporary effective population size of key South African inshore fish species. A/Prof Colin Attwood, UCT

Penguin conservation genetics. A/Prof Peter Ryan, UCT 

 

Courses Lectured:

BIO1000 Cell Biology; BIO2010 Principles of Ecology & Evolution; BIO3010 Systematics and Macro Evolution; BIO3014 Conservation: Genes, Populations & Biodiversity (course convener); MCB3023 Molecular Evolutionary Genetics & Development; ZOO5003 MSc in Conservation Biology 

 

Recent publications

A Guerier, JM Bishop, SM Crawford, A Schmidt-Kuntzel, KJ Stratford (in press) Parentage analysis in a free ranging population of southern white rhinoceros: genetic diversity, pedigrees and management. Conservation Genetics. 

RR Ackermann, JM Bishop (2010) Morphological and molecular evidence reveals recent hybridization between gorilla taxa. Evolution. 64, 271-290. 

R Sithaldeen, JM Bishop, RR Ackermann (2009) Mitochondrial DNA analysis reveals Plio-Pleistocene diversification within the chacma baboon. Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution. 53, 1042–1048.

JM Bishop, AJ Leslie, A Bourquin, C O'Ryan (2009) Reduced effective population size in an overexploited population of the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus). Biological Conservation. 142, 2335-2341.

JM Bishop, C O’Ryan, JUM Jarvis (2007) Social common mole-rats enhance outbreeding by extra-pair mating. Royal Society Biology Letters. 3, 176–179.

JM Bishop, C O’Ryan, AC Spinks, NC Bennett, JUM Jarvis (2004) Molecular insight into patterns of colony composition and paternity in the common mole-rat Cryptomys hottentotus. Molecular Ecology. 13, 1217-1229. 

 

Current Postgraduate Students

Lisa Nupen - The evolutionary genetic history of top avian predators in the Benguela Ecosystem (PhD)

Lizelle Odendaal - Comparative phylogeography and the evolution of acoustic divergence in African horsehoe bats (PhD)

Sofia Stathopoulos - Olfactory receptor gene evolution in the African mole-rats (PhD)

Daniel Wright - Population genetic structure and connectivity in South African rocky shore species (MSc)

Jenneca McCarter - MHC diversity in an urban baboon (Papio ursinus) population: implications for conservation (MSc)   

Erik Katz - Demographic and genetic variability in Cape Dwarf chameleons (Bradypodion pumilum) within a fragmented urban habitat (MSc)

Stephen Doucette-Riise - Migration and dispersal of the Western Leopard Toad (Amietophrynus pantherinus) in a fragmented agricultural landscape (MSc) 

 

Graduated Students

Riashna Sithaldeen, PhD 2011. The phylogenetic and phylogeographic history of the chacma baboon (Papio ursinus) in southern Africa: the role of landscape in shaping contemporary genetic structure.

Natalie Coutts, PhD 2009. Investigating genetic diversity at neutral and adaptive DNA markers in the severely bottlenecked southern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum) 

Alexander Menayas, MSc 2009. Do requiem and hammerhead sharks off the coast of South Africa exhibit multiple paternity? A study using cross-species microsatellites. 

Lourie Badenhorst, MSc 2008. The characterisation of MHC class II genes of the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus): investigating mechanisms that shape genetic diversity in natural populations.