Select Publications

Habicht, C., L. W. Seeb, and J. E. Seeb. 2007. Genetic and ecological divergence defines population structure of sockeye salmon populations returning to Bristol Bay, Alaska, and provides a tool for admixture analysis. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 136:82-94.

Seeb, L. W. 1998. Gene flow and introgression within and among three species of rockfishes, Sebastes auriculatus, S. caurinus, and S. maliger. J. Hered. 89:393-403.

Seeb, L. W., A. Antonovich, M. Banks, T. Beacham, R. Bellinger, S. Blankenship, M. Campbell, N. Decovich, J. C. Garza, C. Guthrie, T. Lundrigan, P. Moran, S. Narum, J. Stephenson, J. Supernault, D. Teel, W. D. Templin, J. K. Wenburg, S. Young, and C. T. Smith. 2007. Development of a standardized DNA database for Chinook salmon. Fisheries 32:540-552.

Seeb, L. W., P. A. Crane, C. M. Kondzela, R. L. Wilmot, S. Urawa, N. V. Varnavskaya, and J. E. Seeb. 2004. Migration of Pacific Rim chum salmon on the high seas: Insights from genetic data. Environ. Biol. Fishes 69:21-36.

Smith, C. T., A. Antonovich, W. D. Templin, C. M. Elfstrom, S. R. Narum, and L. W. Seeb. 2007. Impacts of marker class bias relative to locus-specific variability on population inferences in Chinook salmon: a comparison of single-nucleotide polymorphisms with short tandem repeats and allozymes. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 136:1674-1687.

Smith, C. T., and L. W. Seeb. 2008. Number of alleles as a predictor of the relative assignment accuracy of STR and SNP baselines for chum salmon. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 137:751-762.

Current students may contact this person about availability as a faculty advisor.

My research focuses upon the areas of evolution, population genetics, and conservation of natural populations, particularly Pacific salmon. I am currently collaborating on projects to study spatial patterns of genetic divergence in sockeye salmon inhabiting large lake systems in Alaska and mechanisms maintaining adaptive divergence and isolation among populations of Pacific salmon. We are also developing species-wide databases for Pacific salmon to study the migratory timing and pathways of salmon in the freshwater and marine environments. Many of these efforts are enabled by a grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

The Moore Foundation funded the International Program for Salmon Ecological Genetics (IPSEG) here in the University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences (SAFS). Jim Seeb and I cooperatively run the program, which provides an important intersection between the Alaska Salmon Program and the SAFS Molecular Ecology Research Laboratory. With this grant we are building a high throughput genotyping laboratory, conducting research to discover single nucleotide polymorphisms that may be used in studies of stock identification or ecological genetics, and conducting an array of projects examining the distribution and migration of salmon.  

Two important missions of IPSEG are to (1) host scientists from Asia to establish cooperative studies of mutual interest and (2) generate and develop and online database of SNP frequencies for Pacific salmon. We hope to engage scientists from VNIRO, TINRO, Hokkaido University, the Fisheries Agency of Japan, or others who might share interest in these missions.

As of summer 2008, IPSEG comprises 2 faculty, 2 research scientists, and 4 graduate students. We are currently seeking 2 post docs and plan to accept 1-3 students for next year.