Brian Bowen
PhD Georgia (Genetics), 1992
Associate Researcher, Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology
Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology
SOEST, University of Hawaii
PO Box 1346
Kaneohe, HI 96744
phone: (808) 236-7426
bbowen@hawaii.edu
www.hawaii.edu/HIMB/Faculty/bowen.html

Phylogeography and Conservation Genetics of Marine Vertebrates
My research program is designed to serve conservation goals by illuminating the evolutionary processes that generate biodiversity. In terrestrial systems, populations are usually defined by discontinuous fragments of habitat. These populations may eventually develop intrinsic reproductive barriers, the starting point for speciation. Hence habitat discontinuities may explain most cases of speciation on land, but what about speciation in the sea, where few such barriers exist? In the sea, the evolutionary rules may be different, or they may operate on a vastly different scale due to the connectivity of a trans-global aquatic medium.

My research goals include:

• 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.

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 Amphibians and Reptiles
Society for the Study of Evolution

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Editorial Positions

1993-1999 Genetica, Associate Editor
1996-2004 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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Awards

1990 American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists,
Stoye award for best student paper in herpetology
1991 Annual Marine Turtle Symposium, award for best student paper
1992 University of Georgia, Charles C. Anderson Memorial Award for
research excellence in a dissertation thesis

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Scientific Publications

Bowen, B.W., A. B. Meylan, and J.C. Avise. 1989. An odyssey of the green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas: Ascension Island revisited. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 86:573-576.

Avise, J.C., B.W. Bowen and T. Lamb. 1989. DNA fingerprints from hypervariable mitochondrial genotypes. Mol. Biol. Evol. 6(3):258-269.

Bowen, B.W. and J.C. Avise. 1990. The genetic structure of Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico populations of sea bass, menhaden, and sturgeon: the influence of zoogeographic factors and life history patterns. Marine Biology 107:371-381.

Meylan, A.B., B.W. Bowen and J.C. Avise. 1990. A genetic test of the natal homing versus social facilitation models for green turtle migration. Science 248:724-727.

Bowen, B.W., A.B. Meylan, and J.C. Avise. 1991. Evolutionary distinctiveness of the endangered Kemp's ridley. Nature 352:709-711.

Avise, J.C., B.W. Bowen, E. Bermingham, A.B. Meylan, and T. Lamb. 1992. Mitochondrial DNA evolution at a turtle's pace: evidence for low genetic variability and reduced microevolutionary rate in the Testudines. Mol. Biol. Evol. 9(3): 457-473.

Bowen, B.W., A.B. Meylan, J.P. Ross, C.J. Limpus, G.H. Balazs and J.C. Avise. 1992. Global population structure and natural history of the green turtle (Chelonia mydas) in terms of matriarchal phylogeny. Evolution 46: 865-881.

Karl, S.A., B.W. Bowen, and J.C. Avise. 1992. Global population structure and male-mediated gene flow in the green turtle (Chelonia mydas): RFLP analysis of anonymous nuclear DNA regions. Genetics 131:163-173.

Bowen, B.W., W.S. Nelson, and J.C. Avise. 1993. A molecular phylogeny for marine turtles: trait mapping, rate assessment, and conservation relevance. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90: 5574-5577.

Bowen, B.W., J.C. Avise, J.I. Richardson, A.B. Meylan, D. Margaritoulis, and S. Hopkins-Murphy. 1993. Population structure of the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) in the northwest Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Conservation Biology 7:834-844.

Laurent, L., J. Lescure, L. Excoffier, B.W. Bowen, M. Domingo, M. Hadjichristophorou, L. Kornaraki, and G. Trabuchet. 1993. Genetic relationships between Mediterranean and Atlantic populations of loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta with a mitochondrial marker. Comptes Rendus de l'Academie des Sciences, Paris, Sciences de la vie 316:1233-1239.

Allard, M.W., M.M. Miyamoto, K.A. Bjorndal, A.B. Bolten, and B.W. Bowen. 1994. Support for natal homing in green turtles from mitochondrial DNA sequences. Copeia 1994:34-41

Ferl, R.J., G. Lu, and B.W. Bowen. 1994. Evolutionary implications of the family of 14-3-3 brain protein homologs in Arabidopsis thaliana. Genetica 92:129-138.

Encalada, S.E., S. Eckert, and B.W. Bowen. 1994. Forensic applications of mitochondrial DNA markers: origin of a confiscated green turtle. Marine Turtle Newsletter 66:1-3.

Avise, J.C. and B.W. Bowen. 1994. Investigating sea turtle migration using DNA markers. Current Opinion in Genetics and Development 4:882-886.

Bowen, B.W., T.A. Conant, and S.R. Hopkins-Murphy. 1994. Where are they now? The Kemp's ridley headstart project. Conservation Biology 8:853-856.

Bowen, B.W., N. Kamezaki, C.J. Limpus, G.H. Hughes, A.B. Meylan and J.C. Avise. 1994. Global phylogeography of the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) as indicated by mitochondrial DNA haplotypes. Evolution 48:1820-1828.

Bowen, B.W., F.A. Abreu-Grobois, G.H. Balazs, N. Kamezaki, C.J. Limpus, and R.J. Ferl. 1995. Trans-Pacific migrations of the loggerhead sea turtle demonstrated with mitochondrial DNA markers. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92:3731-3734.

Bowen, B.W. 1995. Tracking marine turtles with genetic markers; voyages of the ancient mariners. BioScience 45:528-534.

Bowen, B.W. 1995. Molecular genetic studies of marine turtles. Pp. 585-588 In Biology and Conservation of Sea Turtles, Second Edition, K. Bjorndal (ed.) Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.

Bowen, B.W. and J.C. Avise. 1995. Conservation genetics of marine turtles. Pp. 190-237 In Conservation Genetics: Case Histories from Nature, J.C. Avise and J.L. Hamrick (eds). Chapman and Hall, NY.

Karl, S.A., B.W. Bowen, and J.C. Avise. 1995. Hybridization among the ancient mariners: identification and characterization of marine turtle hybrids with molecular genetic assays. J. of Heredity 86:262-268.

Sears, C.J., B.W. Bowen, R.W. Chapman, S.B. Galloway, S.R. Hopkins-Murphy, and C.M. Woodley. 1995. Demographic composition of the juvenile loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) feeding population off Charleston, South Carolina: evidence from mitochondrial DNA markers. Marine Biology 123:869-874

Bass, A.L., D.A. Good, K.A. Bjorndal, J.I. Richardson, Z.-M. Hillis, J.A. Horrocks, and B.W. Bowen. 1996. Testing models of female migratory behavior and population structure in the Caribbean hawksbill turtle, Eretmochelys imbricata, with mtDNA control region sequences. Molecular Ecology 5:321-328.

Bowen, B.W., A.L. Bass, A. Garcia, C. E. Diez, R. van Dam, A. Bolten, K.A. Bjorndal, M.M. Miyamoto and R.J. Ferl. 1996. The origin of hawksbill turtles in a Caribbean feeding area as indicated by genetic markers. Ecological Applications 6:566-572.

Bowen, B.W. and W.N. Witzell (eds.) 1996. Proceedings of the international symposium on sea turtle conservation genetics. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-SEFSC-396

Encalada, S.E., P.N. Lahanas, K.A. Bjorndal, A.B. Bolten, M.M. Miyamoto, and B.W. Bowen. 1996. Phylogeography and population structure of the green turtle (Chelonia mydas) in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea: a mitochondrial DNA control region sequence assessment. Molecular Ecology 5:473-484.

Bowen, B.W. and S.A. Karl. 1996. Population structure, phylogeography, and molecular evolution. Pp. 29-50 In The Biology of Sea Turtles, P.L. Lutz and J.A. Musick (eds.), CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL

Bowen, B.W. and W.S. Grant. 1997. Phylogeography of the sardines (Sardinops spp.): assessing biogeographic models and population histories in temperate upwelling zones. Evolution 51: 1601-1610.

Bowen, B.W. 1997. Complex population structure and the conservation genetics of migratory marine mammals: lessons from sea turtles. In Molecular Genetics of Marine Mammals, A.E. Dizon, S.J. Chivers, and W.F. Perrin (eds.), J. Marine Mammalogy, Special Publication 3:77-84.

Encalada, S.E., K.A. Bjorndal, A.B. Bolten, J.C. Zurita, B. Schroeder, E. Possardt, C.J. Sears, and B.W. Bowen. 1998. Population structure of loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) nesting colonies in the Atlantic and Mediterranean regions as inferred from mtDNA control region sequences. Marine Biology 130:567-575.

Bolten, A.B., K.A. Bjorndal, H.R. Martins, T. Dellinger, M.J. Biscoito, S.E. Encalada, and B.W. Bowen. 1998. Trans-Atlantic developmental migrations of loggerhead sea turtles demonstrated by mtDNA sequence analyses. Ecological Applications 8:1-7.

Lahanas, P.N., K.A. Bjorndal, A.B. Bolten, S. Encalada, M.M. Miyamoto, R.A. Valverde, and B.W. Bowen. 1998. Genetic composition of a green turtle (Chelonia mydas) feeding ground population: evidence for multiple origins. Marine Biology 130:345-352.

Bowen, B.W., A.M. Clark, F.A. Abreu-Grobois, A. Chavez, H. Reichart, and R.J. Ferl. 1998. Global phylogeography of the ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys spp.) inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences. Genetica 101:179-189.

Garcia-Rodriguez, A.I., B.W. Bowen, D. Domning, A. Mignucci-Giannoni, M. Marmontel, R. A. Montoya-Ospina, B. Morales-Vela, M. Rudin, R.K. Bonde, and P.M. McGuire. 1998. Phylogeography of the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus): how many populations and how many taxa? Molecular Ecology 7:1137-1149.

Grant, W.S. and B.W. Bowen. 1998. Shallow population histories in deep evolutionary lineages of marine fishes: insights from the sardines and anchovies and lessons for conservation. J. of Heredity 89: 415-426.

Bass, A.L., C.J. LaGueux, and B.W. Bowen. 1998. Origin of green turtles, Chelonia mydas, at "sleeping rocks" off the northeast coast of Nicaragua. Copeia 1998:1064-1069.

Baldwin, J.D., A.L. Bass, B.W. Bowen, and W.H. Clark, Jr. 1998. Molecular phylogeny and biogeography of the marine shrimp genusPenaeus. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 10:399-407.

Grant, W.S., A.M. Clark, and B.W. Bowen. 1998. Why RFLP analysis of control region sequences failed to resolve sardine (Sardinops) biogeography: insights from mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b sequences. Canadian J. of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 55:2539-2547.

Bowen, B.W. 1998. What is wrong with ESUs? The gap between evolutionary theory and conservation principles. J. Shellfish Research 17:1355-1358.

Roman, J., S. Santhuff, P. Moler, and B.W. Bowen. 1999. Cryptic evolution and population structure of the alligator snapping turtle, Macroclemys temminckii. Conservation Biology 13:135-142.

Clark, A.M., B.W. Bowen, and L.C. Branch. 1999. Effects of natural habitat fragmentation on an endemic lizard (Sceloporus woodi): an historical perspective based on an mtDNA gene genealogy. Molecular Ecology 8:1093-1104.

Karl, S.A. and B.W. Bowen. 1999. Evolutionary significant units versus geopolitical taxonomy: molecular systematics of an endangered sea turtle (genus Chelonia). Conservation Biology 13:990-999.

Dutton, P.H., B.W. Bowen, D.W. Owens, A. Barragan and S.K. Davis. 1999. Global phylogeography of the leatherback turtle, Dermochelys coriacea. J. Zoology 248:397-409.

Bowen, B.W. 1999. Preserving genes, ecosystems, or species? Healing the fractured foundations of conservation policy. Molecular Ecology 8:S5-S10.

Roman, J., D. Walker, and B.W. Bowen. 1999. Genetic tools for forensic identification of snapping turtle (Macroclemys temminckii and Chelydra serpentina) products in the marketplace. Herpetological Review 30:218-219.

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.

Jones J.B., H. Bouzar, R.E. Stall, E.C. Almira, P.D. Roberts, B.W. Bowen, J. Sudberry, P.M. Strickler, J. Chun. 2000. Systematic analysis of xanthomonads (Xanthomonas spp.) associated with pepper and tomato lesions. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 50:1211-1219.

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.

Urena-Padilla, A.R., H.C. Kistler, B.W. Bowen, and D.E. Legard. 2002. Etiology and population genetics of Colletotrichium spp. causing crown and fruit rot of strawberry. Phytopathology 92:1245-1252.

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. Conservation Genetics 4:199-212.

Clark, A.-M., P.E. Moler, E. Possardt, A.H. Savitsky, W.S. Brown, and B.W. Bowen. 2003. Phylogeography of the timber rattlesnake Crotalus horridus, based on mtDNA sequences. Journal of Herpetology 37:145-154.

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.

Carlin, J.L., D.R. Robertson, and B.W. Bowen. 2003. Ancient divergences and recent connections in two tropical Atlantic reef fishes Epinephelus adscensionis and Rypticus saponaceous (Percoidei: Serranidae). Marine Biology 143: 1057-1069.

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, M. Bostrom, K.A. Bjorndal, A.B. Bolten, T. Okuyama, B. Bolker, S. Epperly, E. LaCasella, D. Shaver, M. Dodd, S. Hopkins-Murphy, J.A. Musick, M. Swingle, K. Rankin-Baransky, W. Teas, W. Witzell, and P. Dutton. 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.

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 67:1-24.

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

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.

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