Faculty Projects and Publications

Brian W. Bowen

Associate Researcher

Visit Brian Bowen’s web page, part of the “ToBo Lab” web site

Email: bbowen@hawaii.edu
Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology
PO Box 1346
Kane‘ohe, HI 96744

Education

Ph.D. 1992, Genetics, University of Georgia (Advisor: Dr. John C. Avise)
M.A. 1987, Marine Biology, College of William and Mary (Advisor: Dr. John A. Musick)
B.S. 1980 Biology, Providence College (Advisor: Dr. John C. Avise)

Research Interests

Phylogeography, evolution, and conservation genetics of marine vertebrates.

Current goals:

Resolve the life history traits (especially dispersal ability and habitat specificity) that influence dispersal and population separations in Pacific reef organisms.
Test evolutionary models for how biodiversity is generated in the sea, including predictions for allopatric speciation, the center of accumulation hypothesis, and the center of origin hypotheses.
Expand and refine the library of nuclear introns available for population genetic studies of marine fishes and other aquatic organisms.
Provide phylogeographic surveys in the service of marine conservation, particularly to define management units and to assist the design of marine protected areas.

Publications

Selected Recent Publications: 2000 to Present (updated 04/14/2008)

Roman, J. and B.W. Bowen. 2000. The mock turtle syndrome: genetic identification of turtle meat purchased in the southeast United States. Animal Conservation 3:61-65.

Campton, D.E., A.L. Bass, F.A. Chapman, and B.W. Bowen. 2000. Genetic distinction of pallid, shovelnose, and Alabama sturgeon: emerging species and the U.S. endangered species act. Conservation Genetics 1:17-32.

Avise, J.E., W.S. Nelson, B.W. Bowen, and D. Walker. 2000. Phylogeography of colonially-nesting seabirds, with special reference to global matrilineal patterns in the sooty tern (Sterna fuscata). Molecular Ecology 9:1783-1792.

Muss, A., D.R. Robertson, C.A. Stepien, P. Wirtz, and B.W. Bowen. 2001. Phylogeography of the genus Ophioblennius: the role of ocean currents and geography in reef fish evolution. Evolution 55:561-572.

Colborn, J., R.E. Crabtree, J.B. Shaklee, E. Pfeiler, and B.W. Bowen. 2001. The evolutionary enigma of bonefishes (Albula spp.): cryptic species and ancient separations in a globally-distributed shorefish. Evolution 55:807-820.

Bowen, B.W., A.L. Bass, L.A. Rocha, W.S. Grant and D.R. Robertson. 2001. Phylogeography of the trumpetfish (Aulostomus spp.): ring species complex on a global scale. Evolution 55:1029-1039.

Rankin-Baransky, K., C.J. Williams, A.L. Bass, B.W. Bowen, and J.R. Spotila. 2001. Origin of loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) strandings in the northwest Atlantic as determined by mtDNA analysis. J. Herpetology 35:638-646.

Rocha, L.A., A.L. Bass, D.R. Robertson, and B.W. Bowen. 2002. Adult habitat preferences, larval dispersal, and the comparative phylogeography of three Atlantic surgeonfishes (Teleostei: Acanthuridae) Molecular Ecology 11:243-252.

Quattro, J.M., T.W. Greig, D.K. Coykendoll, B.W. Bowen, and J.D. Baldwin. 2002. Genetic issues in aquatic species management: the shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) in the southeastern United States. Conservation Genetics 3:155-166.

Branch, L.C., A.-M. Clark, P.E. Moler, and B.W. Bowen. 2003. Habitat specificity, fragmented landscapes, and the phylogeography of three lizards in Florida scrub. ø 4:199-212.

Bowen, B.W. 2003. What is a loggerhead turtle? The genetic perspective. In A.B. Bolten and B. Witherington (eds.) The Biology of Loggerhead Sea Turtles. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.

Lecomte, F.L., W.S. Grant, J.J. Dodson, R. Rodriguez-Sanchez, and B.W. Bowen. 2004. Living with uncertainty: genetic imprints of climate shifts in East Pacific anchovy (Engraulis mordax) and sardine (Sardinops sagax). Molecular Ecology 13: 2169-2182.

Bowen, B.W., A.L. Bass, S.-M. Chow, and 16 others. 2004. Natal homing in juvenile loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta). Molecular Ecology 13: 3797-3808.

Briggs, J.C., B.W. Bowen and M.A. Rex. 2004. Introduction to Biogeography of the Sea. Pp. 233-237 In Lomolino and Brown (eds.) Frontiers in Biogeography. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland MA.

Rocha, L.A., D.R. Robertson, J. Roman, and B.W. Bowen. 2005. Ecological speciation in tropical reef fishes. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B 272:573-579.

Bowen, B.W., A.L. Bass, L. Soares, and R.J. Toonen. 2005. Conservation implications of complex population structure: lessons from the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta). Molecular Ecology 14: 2389-2402.

Bowen, B.W. and J. Roman. 2005. Gaia’s handmaidens: the Orlog model for conservation biology. Conservation Biology 19: 1037-1043.

Grant, W.S., R.W. Leslie, and B.W. Bowen. 2005. Molecular genetic assessment of bipolarity in the anchovy genus Engraulis. Journal of Fish Biology 67: 1242–1265.

Rocha, L.A., D.R. Robertson, C.R. Rocha, J.L. Van Tassell, M.T. Craig, and B.W. Bowen. 2005. Recent invasion of the tropical Atlantic by an Indo-Pacific coral reef fish. Molecular Ecology 14: 3921-3928.

Bowen, B.W., A. Muss, L.A. Rocha, and W.S. Grant. 2006. Shallow mtDNA coalescence in Atlantic pygmy angelfishes (genus Centropyge) indicates a recent invasion from the Indian Ocean. Journal of Heredity 97: 1-12.

Duncan, K.M., A.P. Martin, B.W. Bowen, and G.H. de Couet. 2006. Global phylogeography of the scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini). Molecular Ecology 15: 2239-2251

Bowen, B.W., A.L. Bass, A.J. Muss, J. Carlin, and D.R. Robertson. 2006. Phylogeography of two Atlantic squirrelfishes (family Holocentridae): Exploring pelagic larval duration and population connectivity. Marine Biology 149: 899-913.

Grant, W.S., and B.W. Bowen. 2006. Living in a tilted world: climate change and geography limit speciation in Old World anchovies (Genus Engraulis). Biological Journal of the Linnaean Society 88: 673-690.

Daly-Engel, T., R. Grubbs, K. Holland, R.J. Toonen, and B.W. Bowen. 2006. Multiple paternity assessments for three species of congeneric sharks (Carcharhinus) in Hawaii. Environmental Biology of Fishes 76: 419-424.

Bowen, B.W., W.S. Grant, Z. Hillis-Starr, D. Shaver, K.A. Bjorndal, A.B. Bolten, and A.L. Bass. 2007. Mixed stock analysis reveals the migrations of juvenile hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) in the Caribbean Sea. Molecular Ecology 16:49-60.

Daly-Engel, T., R. Grubbs, B.W. Bowen, and R.J. Toonen. 2007. Frequency of multiple paternity in an unexploited tropical population of sandbar sharks (Carcharhinus plumbeus). Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science 64: 198-204.

Craig, M.T., J.A. Eble, D.R. Robertson, B.W. Bowen. 2007. High genetic connectivity across the Indian and Pacific Oceans in the reef fish Myripristis berndti (Holocentridae). Marine Ecology Progress Series 334: 245–254.

Schultz, J.K., R.L. Pyle, E. DeMartini, and B.W. Bowen. 2007. Genetic homogeneity among color morphs of the flame angelfish, Centropyge loriculus. Marine Biology 151: 167-175.

Friedlander, A., J. Caselle, J. Beets, C. Lowe, B.W. Bowen, T. Ogawa, K. Kelly, T. Calitri, M. Lange, and B. Anderson. 2007. Aspects of the biology, ecology, and recreational fishery for bonefish at Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, with comparisons to other Pacific Islands. Pp. 28-56 In J.S. Ault (ed.) Biology and Management of the world tarpon and bonefish fisheries. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL

Bowen, B.W., S.A. Karl, and E. Pfeiler. 2007. Resolving evolutionary lineages and taxonomy of bonefishes (Albula spp.). Pp. 147-154 In J.S. Ault (ed.) Biology and Management of the world tarpon and bonefish fisheries. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL

Bird, C.J., B.S. Holland, B.W. Bowen, and R.J. Toonen. 2007. Contrasting population structure in three endemic Hawaiian limpets (Cellana spp.) with similar life histories. Molecular Ecology 16:3173-3186.

Rocha, L.A., M.T. Craig, and B.W. Bowen. 2007. Phylogeography and the conservation genetics of coral reef fishes. Coral Reefs Invited Review 26: 501-512.

Bowen, B.W. 2007. Sexual harassment by a male green turtle (Chelonia mydas). Marine Turtle Newsletter 117:10.

Bowen, B.W., and S.A. Karl. 2007. Population genetics and phylogeography of sea turtles. Invited review, Molecular Ecology 16: 4886–4907.

Castro A.L.F., Stewart B.S., Wilson S.G., Hueter R.H., Meekan M.G., Motta P.J., Bowen B.W., Karl S.A. 2007. Population genetic structure of the world’s largest fish, the whale shark (Rhincodon typus). Molecular Ecology 16: 5183-5192.

Floeter, S.R., Rocha, L.A., Robertson, D.R., Joyeux, J.C., Smith-Vaniz, W., Barreiros, J.P., Wirtz, P., Edwards, A.J., Ferreira, C.E.L., Gasparini, J.L., Bowen, B.W., Bernardi, G. 2008. Atlantic reef fish biogeography and evolution. Journal of Biogeography 35: 22-47.

Baker, P., J.D. Austin, B.W. Bowen, and S.M. Baker. 2008. Range-wide population structure and history of the northern quahog (Mercenaria mercenaria) inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequence data. ICES Journal of Marine Science 65:155-163.

Rocha, L.A. and B.W. Bowen. 2008. Speciation in coral reef fishes. Journal of Fish Biology 72, Invited Review, 1101-1121.

Professional Societies

American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
American Genetics Association
Society for Conservation Biology
Society for the Study of Evolution
International Biogeography Society
International Society for Reef Studies

Advisory Positions

1994-2000 IUCN Species Survival Commission, Marine Turtle Specialist
1994-2000 Conservation Committee, Soc. Study of Amphibians and Reptiles
1998-present Fundacao Pro-TAMAR (Brazil) Ad-Hoc Consultants Committee
2000-2002 Lab for Conservation Genetics, Max Planck Inst., Scientific advisor
2005-2006 Research Advisory Council, NW Hawaiian Islands Marine Sanctuary
2006-present Science and Statistics Committee, Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council
2006-present Research Council, UH School of Oceanography (SOEST)

Editorial Positions

1993-1999 Genetica, Associate Editor
1996-present Herpetological Review, Associate Editor
1998-2000 Evolution, Associate Editor
2000-present Molecular Ecology, Editorial Review Board
2003-present Journal of Heredity, Associate Editor

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