Sara Oyler-McCance - USGS

Trust Species & Habitats

Research Geneticist

Duty Station:
Fort Collins Science Center
2150 Centre Ave
Bldg C
Fort Collins, CO 80525

Phone: 970-226-9197
Fax: 970.226.9230
Email: sara_oyler-mccance@usgs.gov

Current Research

• Molecular Ecology Laboratory
• Evaluation of Genetic, Behavioral, and Morphological Distinctness of Greater Sage-Grouse in the Bi-State Planning Area
• Investigation of White-tailed Kite Population Bottleneck Using Museum Specimens
• Population Genetics of Wood Frogs in Rocky Mountain National Park
• Estimating Gunnison Sage-grouse Demographic Parameters Using DNA as an Individual Marker for Mark-Recapture Analysis
• Examination of the Biology of Summer-Roosting Indiana Bats Using Genetic Tools
• Degradation Rates of DNA Extracted from Fecal Samples for Use with Molecular Markers
• Investigation of Family Relationships in Broad-tailed Hummingbirds Using Molecular Methods
• Effects of Climate Change on White-tailed Ptarmigan Using Genetics, Stable Isotopes, and Population Demographic Methodologies
• Tracking Clark's Nutcracker Movements and Population Structure Using Intrinsic Markers: Combining Genetic and Stable Isotope Signatures
• Analysis of Population Connectivity in Wyoming Greater Sage-grouse
• Genetic Characterization of Introduced Lynx in Colorado
• Range-wide Connectivity of Greater Sage-Grouse Populations
• Linking Host-Associated Gut Microbial Communities and Immuno-Response in a Unique Avian Model

Publications

• Development and characterization of thirteen microsatellite loci in Clark's nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana)
• Sample design effects in landscape genetics
• From individuals to families to populations: Using molecular techniques to help guide wildlife management
• Isolation and fragmentation in sage-grouse; genetic fingerprints at the crime scene
• Rapid microsatellite identification from Illumina paired-end genomic sequencing in two birds and a snake
• The genetic structure of a relict population of Wood Frogs
• Effects of sample size, number of markers, and allelic richness on landscape genetic inference
• Genetic applications in avian conservation
• Conservation of Greater Sage-Grouse: A synthesis of current trends and future management
• FORT Molecular Ecology Laboratory [website]
• Molecular genetics at the Fort Collins Science Center
• Effects of climate change on nutrition and genetics of White-tailed Ptarmigan
• Characterization of small microsatellite loci isolated in endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) for use in non-invasive sampling
• Characterization of ten microsatellite loci in the Broad-tailed Hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus)
• Evaluation of the genetic distinctiveness of Greater Sage-grouse in the Bi-State Planning Area
• Molecular insights into the biology of Greater Sage-Grouse
• Genetic consequences of trumpeter swan (Cygnus buccinator) reintroductions
• Effects of climate change on nutrition and genetics of White-tailed Ptarmigan [chapter 21]
• Rapid evolution in lekking grouse: Implications for taxonomic definitions
• A population genetic analysis of the midget faded rattlesnake in Wyoming
• Investigating variation in the nutritional ecology and genetics of white-tailed ptarmigan: implications for climate change
• Characterization of small microsatellite loci for use in non invasive sampling studies of Gunnison Sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus)
• Characterization of ten microsatellite loci in midget faded rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus concolor)
• Regional Variation in mtDNA of the Lesser Prairie-Chicken
• Population structure of Mountain Plover as determined using nuclear microsatellites
• When morphology matters most: Assessing the importance of morphological difference in grouse
• Gender identification of white-winged doves
• A rangewide population genetic study of trumpeter swans
• Characterization of microsatellite loci isolated in Mountain Plover (Charadrius montanus)
• A rangewide genetic comparison of trumpeter swans using mitochondrial and nuclear markers
• A population genetic survey of trumpeter swans across their range
• Characterization of microsatellite loci isolated in trumpeter swan (Cygnus buccinator)
• Population genetic analysis of Mountain Plover using mitochondrial DNA sequence data
• Population genetics of Gunnison sage-grouse: implications for management
• A multilocus population genetic survey of greater sage-grouse across their range
• Characterization of microsatellite loci isolated in midget-faded rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis concolor)
• Conservation genetics in wildlife biology
• Rocky Mountain Center for Conservation Genetics and Systematics
• Evaluation of the eastern (Centrocercus urophasianus urophasianus) and western (Centrocercus urophasianus phaios) subspecies of Sage-grouse using mitochondrial control-region sequence data
• Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci in Greater Sage-Grouse (Centlocerus urophasianus)
• Influence of changes in sagebrush on Gunnison sage grouse in Southwestern Colorado
• Modeling management and conservation strategies for Gunnison sage grouse in Colorado
• Occurrence of Greater Sage-Grouse X Sharp-tailed Grouse hybrids in Alberta
• A new species of sage-grouse (Phasianidae: Centrocercus) from southwestern Colorado
• A population genetic comparison of large and small-bodied sage grouse in Colorado using microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA markers
• A bird of a different feather: DNA research reveals new, yet familiar species
• Genetic and habitat factors underlying conservation strategies for Gunnison sage grouse

Web Applications

• Feathers [Website]

Web Sites

• FORT Molecular Ecology Laboratory [website]