Theoretical and empirical approaches to the study of gene flow in fragmented and managed populations

Research in conservation biology and ecosystem management has been extended to an analysis of landscape effects on gene flow within and among plant populations. Theoretical models of gene flow stem from concepts developed by Sewall Wright that are based either on continuous populations using isolation by distance approach or on populations as islands that become differentiation through mutation and genetic drift. These models assume a null environment and populations of equal size. Recently, theoretical developments in metapopulation analysis and landscape ecology as well as new empirical approaches in conservation genetics provide alternative and sometimes complementary approaches to the study of gene flow. The goals of the workshop would be: (1) to review the various theoretical and empirical approaches that either examine gene flow directly or can be modified to examine gene flow; (2) to review various software programs for these models; and (3) to compare the outcomes of these models using existing datasets. The eventual goal is to evaluate the most appropriate models and develop a new synthetic approach to the study of gene flow that is appropriate to fragmented and managed forests.