Kerry Naish
- Professor, SAFS
- Curriculum Director, SAFS
Research areas
My research program includes studying the evolutionary responses of populations to natural and anthropogenic influences, using a combination of molecular, genomic and quantitative genetic approaches to characterize changes in fitness-related traits. Our work has implications for the conservation and management of aquatic populations because we need to understand how these populations will respond to a changing environment. Specifically, we need to be able to identify natural environmental influences on the evolution of fitness traits and then to anticipate how populations might respond to activities such as harvest, environmental changes, and conservation actions such as reintroductions and supportive breeding. This knowledge will assist us in taking proactive strategies to reduce human impacts on natural populations.
Work in my lab is best described by four major areas:
- Studying the evolution of the Pacific salmon genome following an ancient whole-genome duplication event. This work also establishes the framework for applying genomic-based approaches to evolutionary studies.
- Understanding the genetic basis of local adaptation in wild populations. Recently, we have been investigating approaches to studying the evolution of fitness-related traits that have been measured in wild populations.
- Examining the fitness consequences of population structure. Mating within populations is relevant to the evolution of small populations and might explain innovation or extinction through inbreeding, whereas mating between populations is relevant for understanding increases or decreases in fitness due to outbreeding.
- Researching alternative strategies for reducing the impacts of human-induced evolutionary changes in populations. Our group is particularly interested in using proactive investigation in this area so that well-informed measures can be implemented.
The ultimate goal of my research program is to develop predictive models in evolutionary genetics, with direct relevance to conservation and management.
Courses
- FISH/OCEAN/MARBIO 370: Marine Evolutionary Biology
- FISH 444: Conservation Genetics
- FISH 522: Hot Topics in Aquatic and Fishery Sciences
Community Engagement and Awards
University Service
- College of the Environment, Curriculum Committee
- Marine Biology Degree, Advisory Committee
- Friday Harbor Laboratory, Advisory Committee
- University Honors Program, Advisory Committee
Editorial and Advisory Boards
- Evolutionary Applications, Associate Editor
- Science Advisory Panel, SeaDoc Society
Awards
- 2014 College of the Environment Outstanding Teaching Faculty
- 2008 College of Ocean and Fishery Sciences Distinguished Teaching Award
Selected publications
2015 Waters CD, Hard JJ, Brieuc MSO, Fast DE, Warheir KI, Waples RS, Knudsen CM, Bosch WJ, Naish KA. Effectiveness of managed gene flow in reducing genetic divergence associated with captive breeding. Evolutionary Applications 8: 956-971.
2015 Brieuc MSO, Ono K, Drinan DP, Naish KA. Integration of Random Forest with population-based outlier analyses provides insight on the genomic basis and evolution of run timing in Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). Molecular Ecology 24: 2729-2746
2014 Kodama M, Brieuc MSO, Devlin RH, Hard JJ, Naish KA. Comparative mapping between coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and three other salmonids suggests a role for chromosomal rearrangements in the retention of duplicated regions following a Whole Genome Duplication event. G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics 4(9):1717-1730.
2014 Brieuc MSO, Waters CD, Seeb JE, Naish KA. A dense linkage map for Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) reveals variable chromosomal divergence after an ancestral Whole Genome Duplication event. G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics 4(3):447-460.
2013 Ostberg C, Hauser L, Pritchard V, Garza J, Naish KA: Chromosome rearrangements, recombination suppression, and limited segregation distortion in hybrids between Yellowstone cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri) and rainbow trout ( mykiss). BMC Genomics 2013, 14:570.
2013 Naish KA, Seamons TR, Dauer MB, Hauser L, Quinn TP. Relationship between effective population size, inbreeding and adult fitness-related traits in a steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) population released in the wild. Molecular Ecology 22(5):1295-1309.
2015 Waters CD, Hard JJ, Brieuc MSO, Fast DE, Warheir KI, Waples RS, Knudsen CM, Bosch WJ, Naish KA. Effectiveness of managed gene flow in reducing genetic divergence associated with captive breeding. Evolutionary Applications 8: 956-971.
2015 Brieuc MSO, Ono K, Drinan DP, Naish KA. Integration of Random Forest with population-based outlier analyses provides insight on the genomic basis and evolution of run timing in Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). Molecular Ecology 24: 2729-2746
2014 Kodama M, Brieuc MSO, Devlin RH, Hard JJ, Naish KA. Comparative mapping between coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and three other salmonids suggests a role for chromosomal rearrangements in the retention of duplicated regions following a Whole Genome Duplication event. G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics 4(9):1717-1730.
2014 Brieuc MSO, Waters CD, Seeb JE, Naish KA. A dense linkage map for Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) reveals variable chromosomal divergence after an ancestral Whole Genome Duplication event. G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics 4(3):447-460.
2013 Ostberg C, Hauser L, Pritchard V, Garza J, Naish KA: Chromosome rearrangements, recombination suppression, and limited segregation distortion in hybrids between Yellowstone cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri) and rainbow trout ( mykiss). BMC Genomics 2013, 14:570.
2013 Naish KA, Seamons TR, Dauer MB, Hauser L, Quinn TP. Relationship between effective population size, inbreeding and adult fitness-related traits in a steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) population released in the wild. Molecular Ecology 22(5):1295-1309.