Abstract
Genetic techniques are widely applied to assess the effects of environmental variation or exogenous impacts on populations. Many studies fail to provide convincing evidence that genetic patterns are attributable to the factors proposed. We assert that a rigorous approach must be followed to distinguish patterns of natural genetic variation from genetic change. We review the principles of natural genetic variation and population structure and present them in the context of their interaction with biological and stochastic sources of genetic change. Key steps are articulated which are often overlooked when applying genetic techniques. These are consideration of population structure when comparing populations, developing a specific test against a model of genetic change, and testing for evidence of direct effects and mechanisms of impact. Use of these steps in genetic ecotoxicology is described in detail and includes three primary methods of linking genetic patterns to the effects of contaminants. We propose that this combined approach is critical to the use of genetic techniques to assess and predict long-term effects of environmental impacts on populations or ecosystems.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson, S.L., Harrison, F.L.: 1990, In: S. S. S. et al. (ed.) In Situ Evaluations of Biological Hazards of Environmental Pollutants. Plenum Press, New York, 81–93.
Anderson, I.A., Okubura, P.A., Arroyo-Garcia, R., Myers, B.C., Michelmore, R.W.: 1996, Molecular and General Genetics 251, 316–325.
Anderson, S., Sadinski, W., Shugart, L., Brussard, P., Depledge, M., Ford, T., Hose, J., Stegeman, J., Suk, W., Wirgin, I., Wogan, G.: 1994, Environmental Health Perspectives 102, 3–8.
Anderson, S., Wild, G.: 1994, Environmental Health Perspectives 102, 9–12.
Anderson, S.L., Belfiore, N.M.: submitted, Mutation Research.
Andreasen, J.K.: 1985, Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 14, 573–577.
Applegate, L.A. and Ley, R.D.: 1988, Mutation Research 198, 85–92.
Armbruster, W.S., K.E. Schwaegerle: 1996, Journal of Evol. Biol. 9, 261–276.
Baker, J.: 1982, Agriculture and Environment 7, 187–198.
Bickham, J.W., Smolen, M.J.: 1994, Environmental Health Perspectives 102, 25–28.
Brewer, B.A., Lacy, R.C., Foster, M.L., Alaks, G.: 1990, Journal of Heredity 81, 257–266.
Carriere, Y., Roff, D.A.: 1995, Heredity 75, 618–629.
D'Angelo, D.J., Howard, L.M., Meyer, J.L., Gregory, S.V., Ashkenas, L.R.: 1995, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science 52, 1893–1908.
Dell'Omo, G., Bryenton, R., Shore, R.F.: 1997, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 16, 272–276
Endler, J.A.: 1995, Trends in Evolution and Ecology 10, 22–29.
Fore, S.A., Guttman, S.I., Bailer, A.J., Altfater, D.J., Counts, B.V.: 1995, Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 30, 24–35.
Frankham, R.: 1995, Conservation Biology 9, 792–799.
Garcia de Leon, F.J., Chikhi, L., Bonhomme, F.: 1997, Molecular Ecology 6, 51–62.
Guttman, D.S., Dykhuizen, D.E.: 1994, Genetics 138, 993–1003.
Hale, L.R., Singh, R.S.: 1991, Genetics 129, 103–117.
Hartl, D.L., 1988 A Primer of Population Genetics, 2 ed. Sinauer Associates, Inc., Sunderland, 305 pp.
Hedrick, P.W., Ginevan, M.E., Ewing, E.P.: 1976, Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 7, 1–32.
Hemminki, K.: 1993, Carcinogenesis 14, 2007–2012.
Huggett, R.J., Kimerle, R.A., Mehric, P.M., et al.: 1992, In: R. J. Huggett, R. A. Kimerle, P. M. J. Mehrie and H. L. Bergman (eds.) Biomarkers Biochemical, Physiological, and Histological Markers of Anthropogenic Stress. Lewis Publishers, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1–3.
Klerks, P.L., Levintor, J.S.: 1989, Biol. Bull 176, 135–141.
Kondrashov, A.S.: 1995, Journal of Theoretical Biology 175, 583–594.
Kopp, R.L., Guttman, S.I., Wissing, T.I.: 1994, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 11, 665–676.
Kurelee, B.: 1993, Marine Environmental Research 35, 141–348.
Kusser, W.C., Brand, D., Cretney, W., Glickman, B.W.: 1995, Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Vancouver, British Colombia.
Lande, R., Barrowclough, G.F.: 1987, In: M. E. Soule (ed.) Viable Populations for Conservation. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 69–86.
Lynch, M., Conery, J., Burger, R.: 1995, The American Naturalist 146, 489–518.
Michelmore, R.W.: 1995, Current Opinion in Biotechnology 6, 145–152.
Milligan, B.G., Leebens-Mack, J., Strand, A.E.: 1994, Molecular Ecology 3, 423–435.
Mouches, C., Pastcur, N., Berge, J.B., et al.: 1986, Science 233, 778–780.
Mundy, N.I., Winchell, C.S., and Woodruff, D.S.: 1997, Molecular Ecology 6, 29–37.
Murdoch, M.H., Hebert, V.: 1994, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 13, 1281–1289.
Palumbi, S.R.: 1996, In: J. D. Ferraris and S. R. Palumbi (eds.) Molecular Zoology: Advances, Strategies, and Protocols. Wiley-Liss, New York, 101–117.
Piertney, S.B., Carvalho, G.R.: 1995, Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 188, 277–288.
Pogson, G.H., Mesa, K.A., Boutilier, R.G.: 1995, Genetics 139, 375–385.
Rand, D.M.: 1996, Conservation Biology 10, 665–671.
Roy, N.K., Kreamer, G.L., Konkle, B., Grunwald, C., Wirgin, I.: 1995, Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics 322, 204–213.
Sadinski, W.J., Levay, G., Wilson, M.C., Hoffman, J.R., Bodell, W.J., Anderson, S.L.: 1995, Aquatic Toxicology 32, 333–352.
Sanders, B.: 1990. In: J. F. McCarthy and L. R. Shugart (eds.) Biomarkers of Environmental Contamination. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, 165–192.
Selander, R.K. and Whittam, T.S.: 1983, In: M. Nei and R.K. Koehn (eds.) Evolution of Genes and Proteins. Sinauer Associates, Inc., Sunderland, 89–114.
Shugart, L., Bickham, J., Jackim, G., McMahon, G., Ridley, W., Stein, J., Steinert, S.: 1992, In: R. J. Huggett, R. A. Kimerie, P. M. J. Mehrie and H. L. Bergman (eds.) Biomarkers: Biochemical, Physiological, and Histological Markers of Anthropogenic Stress. Lewis Publishers, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 125–153.
Shugart, L.R., Theodorakis, C.: 1996, Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology 113C, 273–276.
Stein, J.E., Reichert, W.L., Varanasi,: 1994, Environmental Health Perspectives 102, 19–23.
Smith, M.W., Smith, M.H., Chesser, R.K.: 1983, Copeia 1983, 182–193.
Soule, M.E.: 1986, In: M. E. Soule (ed.) Conservation Biology: The Science of Scarcity and Diversity. Sinauer Associates, Inc., Sunderland, 13–18.
Taylor, B.L., Dizon, A.E.: 1996, Conservation Biology 10, 661–664.
Theodorakis, C.W., Blaylock, B.G., Shugart, L.R.: 1997, Ecotoxicology 5, 1–15.
Theodorakis, C.W., Shugart, L.R.: 1997, Ecotoxicology in press,
Turelli, M., Ginzburg, L.R.: 1983, Genetics 104, 191–209.
Weeks, B.A., Anderson, D.P., Dufour, A.P., Fairbrother, A., Goven, A.J., Lahvis, G.P., Peters, G.: 1992, In: R. J. Huggett, R. A. Kimerle, P. M. Mehrle and H. L. Bergman (eds.) Biomarkers: Biochemical, Physiological, and Histological Markers of Anthropogenic Stress. Lewis Publishers, Chelsea, 211–234.
Wirgin, I.I., D'Amore, M., Grunwald, C., Goldman, A., Garte, S.J.: 1990, Biochemical Genetics 28,
Woodward, L.A., Mulvey, M., Newman, M.C.: 1996, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 15, 1309–1316.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Belfiore, N.M., Anderson, S.L. Genetic Patterns as a Tool for Monitoring and Assessment of Environmental Impacts: the Example of Genetic Ecotoxicology. Environ Monit Assess 51, 465–479 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005971132502
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005971132502