CONTACT INFORMATION
Center for Conservation Research and Training
3050 Maile Way, Gilmore 408
Honolulu, HI 96822
Phone: (808) 956-6581
Fax: (808) 956-2647
RESEARCH INTERESTS
My primary scientific interests lie in evolutionary biology, and the generation and maintenance of biological diversity. My recent research has mainly focused on Pacific Island phylogeography, using some of the more prominent, spectacular Hawaiian land snail radiations as model systems.
• In collaboration with Dr. Rob Cowie, I am using a molecular approach to investigate phylogenetics and passive long-distance dispersal pathways of succineid snails throughout the Pacific basin . This work is being done in collaboration with Gary Barker of Landcare New Zealand and Dr. Marta deMainenon, UH Hilo, and is funded by the US National Science Foundation.
• In on-going collaborative efforts with Dr. Mike Hadfield, Director of the Kewalo Marine Lab and professor of Zoology at UH, I am participating in analyses of systematic relationships, diversification, and conservation genetics of the endemic Hawaiian tree snails of the subfamily Achatinellinae.
I am fortunate enough to be involved in a number of collaborations on other projects, some of which are listed below:
• Together with Jerry Crow of the Waikiki Aquarium, funded by Hawaii Sea Grant, I am currently investigating molecular systematics and evolutionary relationships among the box jellies, or Cubozoa (Carybdeidae & Chirodropidae). In the Hawaiian Islands, native box jellies (mainly Carybdea alata) wash onshore periodically and have an annoying, though not usually life threatening sting, and can therefore be detrimental to the tourism industry. We hope to gain insight into the natural history of these poorly understood species.
• In another recent project I am looking at behavioral ecology in invasive Jackson's chameleons, in collaboration with Dr. Martin Whiting of Witswatersrand University in South Africa and J. Scott Keogh of the Australian National University. We are using a protocol developed by Dr. Whiting to quantify color change with an optic spectrometer and video documentation, under various staged scenarios including: male/male encounters, male/female encounters, and predator exposure (using a stuffed African hawk and plastic-cast snake). The aim is to compare behavioral responses in introduced chameleons (living in the absence of hawks and snakes) with responses elicited under the same conditions in their native Kenya. We are also examining chameleon gut contents and reproductive status in collaboration with Dr. Fred Kraus of the Bishop Museum. Dr. Keogh and I will use variable mtDNA markers to investigate phylogeographic structure and test predictions based on population genetic theory relating to bottleneck events and founder effects.
• In collaboration with Chris (Mad Dog) Bird of UH Botany, and Dr. Rob Toonen and Dr. Brian Bowen of the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, we are investigating the systematics, gene flow, and stock structure of native Hawaiian opihi (Cellana spp.). Opihi are an economically and culturally important fisheries resource that has been severely impacted by harvest pressure. Data generated in this project could be used to help design marine protected areas (MPAs) where opihi are allowed to mature and reproduce in the absence of anthropogenic interference. MPAs could enhance the fishery as well as the likelihood of persistence of opihi by providing sustainable sources of larvae to harvested areas on all of the high islands.
• In collaboration with Dr. Rob Cowie, I am using a molecular approach to investigate phylogenetics and passive long-distance dispersal pathways of succineid snails throughout the Pacific basin . This work is being done in collaboration with Gary Barker of Landcare New Zealand and Dr. Marta deMainenon, UH Hilo, and is funded by the US National Science Foundation.
• In on-going collaborative efforts with Dr. Mike Hadfield, Director of the Kewalo Marine Lab and professor of Zoology at UH, I am participating in analyses of systematic relationships, diversification, and conservation genetics of the endemic Hawaiian tree snails of the subfamily Achatinellinae.
I am fortunate enough to be involved in a number of collaborations on other projects, some of which are listed below:
• Together with Jerry Crow of the Waikiki Aquarium, funded by Hawaii Sea Grant, I am currently investigating molecular systematics and evolutionary relationships among the box jellies, or Cubozoa (Carybdeidae & Chirodropidae). In the Hawaiian Islands, native box jellies (mainly Carybdea alata) wash onshore periodically and have an annoying, though not usually life threatening sting, and can therefore be detrimental to the tourism industry. We hope to gain insight into the natural history of these poorly understood species.
• In another recent project I am looking at behavioral ecology in invasive Jackson's chameleons, in collaboration with Dr. Martin Whiting of Witswatersrand University in South Africa and J. Scott Keogh of the Australian National University. We are using a protocol developed by Dr. Whiting to quantify color change with an optic spectrometer and video documentation, under various staged scenarios including: male/male encounters, male/female encounters, and predator exposure (using a stuffed African hawk and plastic-cast snake). The aim is to compare behavioral responses in introduced chameleons (living in the absence of hawks and snakes) with responses elicited under the same conditions in their native Kenya. We are also examining chameleon gut contents and reproductive status in collaboration with Dr. Fred Kraus of the Bishop Museum. Dr. Keogh and I will use variable mtDNA markers to investigate phylogeographic structure and test predictions based on population genetic theory relating to bottleneck events and founder effects.
• In collaboration with Chris (Mad Dog) Bird of UH Botany, and Dr. Rob Toonen and Dr. Brian Bowen of the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, we are investigating the systematics, gene flow, and stock structure of native Hawaiian opihi (Cellana spp.). Opihi are an economically and culturally important fisheries resource that has been severely impacted by harvest pressure. Data generated in this project could be used to help design marine protected areas (MPAs) where opihi are allowed to mature and reproduce in the absence of anthropogenic interference. MPAs could enhance the fishery as well as the likelihood of persistence of opihi by providing sustainable sources of larvae to harvested areas on all of the high islands.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Holland, B.S. and M.G. Hadfield. Molecular systematic evaluation of subspecies boundaries and shell chirality in the endangered Oahu tree snail Achatinella mustelina (Mighels 1845). Submitted to Pacific Science. In review.
2006 Cowie, R.H. and B.S. Holland. Dispersal is fundamental to evolution on oceanic islands. Journal of Biogeography 33(2): 193-198. Guest Editorial.
2005 Rubinoff, D. and B.S. Holland. Between the two extremes: Mitochondrial DNA is neither the panacea nor the nemesis of phylogenetic and taxonomic inference. Systematic Biology 54(6): 92-961.
2004 Holland, B.S., M.N. Dawson, G.L. Crow and D.K. Hofmann. Global phylogeography of Cassiopea (Scyphozoa: Rhizostomeae): Molecular evidence for cryptic species and multiple invasions of the Hawaiian Islands. Marine Biology. 145: 1119-1128.
2004 Holland, B.S. and M.G. Hadfield. Origin and diversification of the endemic Hawaiian tree snails (Achatinellinae: Achatinellidae) based on molecular evidence. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 32(2): 588-600.
2004 Hadfield, M.G., B.S. Holland and K. Olival. Contributions of Ex Situ Propagation and Molecular Genetics to the Conservation of Hawaiian Tree Snails. In: Experimental Approaches to Conservation Biology. (M.Gordon and S.Bartol, eds). University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles. Pages 16-34.
2004 Rundell, R.J., B.S. Holland, and R.H. Cowie. Molecular phylogeny and biogeography of endemic Hawaiian succineid land snails (Pulmonata: Gastropoda). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 31: 246-255.
2002 Holland, B.S. and M.G. Hadfield. Islands within an island: phylogeography and conservation genetics of the endangered Hawaiian tree snail Achatinella mustelina. Molecular Ecology. 11(3): 365-376.
2001 Holland, B.S. Invasion without a bottleneck: microsatellite variation in natural and invasive populations of the brown mussel, Perna perna (L). Marine Biotechnology 3(5): 407-415.
2000 Apte, S., B.S. Holland, L.S. Godwin, and J.P.A. Gardner. Jumping ship: a stepping stone event mediating transfer of a non- indigenous species via a potentially unsuitable environment. Biological Invasions 2: 75-79.
2000 Holland, B.S. Genetics of Marine Bioinvasions. In: Marine Genetics. (A. Sole-Cava, C. Russo and J. Thorpe), Developments in Hydrobiologia, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Netherlands. Pages 63-71.
2000 Holland, B.S. Genetics of marine bioinvasions. Hydrobiologia 420: 63-71.
1999 Holland, B.S., D.S. Gallagher, D.W. Hicks, and S.K. Davis. Cytotaxonomic verification of a non-indigenous marine mussel in the Gulf of Mexico. The Veliger 42(3): 280-282.
1992 Gittings, S.R., G.S. Boland, K.J.P. Deslarzes, C. Combs, B.S. Holland, and T.J. Bright. Mass spawning and reproductive viability of reef corals at the East Flower Garden Bank, northwest Gulf of Mexico. Bulletin of Marine Science 51(3): 420-428.
1991 Lockwood, S.F., B.S. Holland, J.W. Bickham, B.J. Hanks, and J.J. Bull. Intraspecific genome size variation in a turtle (Trachemys scripta) exhibiting temperature-dependent sex determination. Canadian Journal of Zoology 69: 2306-2310.
Brenden Holland
Assistant Researcher in CCRT, Graduate Faculty in EECB
B.A. (General Biology), University of California, San Diego, 1986;
M.S. (Biological Oceanography), Texas A&M University, 1991;
Ph.D. (Biological Oceanography), Texas A&M University, 1997