Adrienne I. Kovach

Research

My primary research interest is in the application of genetic approaches to the ecology, conservation, and management of wildlife populations. My students and I address questions about population structure, dispersal, source-sink dynamics, hybridization, landscape genetics and conservation genetics in variety of vertebrates, including black bears, New England cottontails, Saltmarsh Sparrows, vernal pool-breeding amphibians, and marine and anadromous fish. When possible, I employ an interdisciplinary approach and many of my projects have both field and laboratory components. I frequently have opportunities for undergraduates to help in the field or lab. Prospective graduate students with a keen interest in combining genetic and ecological approaches and strong quantitative skills are encouraged to contact me.
Curriculum Vitae

Current & Recent Research Projects:

  • Landscape genetics of vernal pool-breeding amphibians in an industrial managed forest
  • Effects of habitat fragmentation on dispersal and fine-scale genetic structure of wood frogs and spotted salamanders in a suburban landscape
  • Conservation genetics of endangered New England cottontails
  • Genetic structure and nesting success of Saltmarsh Sparrows
  • Dynamics of the Nelson’s-Saltmarsh Sparrow hybrid zone
  • Genetic stock identification of Atlantic cod and rainbow smelt

Education

  • 1998 Ph.D. Zoology, North Carolina State University
  • 1990 B.S. Organismal Biology, University of Kansas

Teaching Responsibilities

  • BIOL 420: Introduction to Forensic Sciences
  • NR 655: Vertebrate Biology

Adrienne Kovach

Research Assistant Professor,
Natural Resources

adrienne.kovach@unh.edu
603-862-1603

Selected Publications

Kovach, A.I., T.S. Breton, D.L. Berlinsky, L. Maceda, and I.Wirgin. 2010.  Fine-scale and temporal genetic structure of cod off the Atlantic coast of the USA. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 410: 177-195.

Runge, J.A., A.I. Kovach, J. Churchill, L. Kerr, and 17 others. 2010. Understanding Climate Impacts on Recruitment and Spatial Dynamics of Atlantic Cod in the Gulf of Maine: Integration of Observations and Modeling. Progress in Oceanography. 87: 251-263.

Coster, S.S., A.I. Kovach, P.J. Pekins, A.B. Cooper, and A. Timmins. In Press. Genetic Mark-Recapture Population Estimation in Black Bears and Issues of Scale. Journal of Wildlife Management. 

Walsh, J., A.I. Kovach, O.P. Lane, K.M O’Brien and K.J. Babbitt. In Press. Genetic barcodes suggest expansion of the Nelson’s and Saltmarsh Sparrow hybrid zone. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology.  

Fenderson, L.E., A.I. Kovach, J. Litvaitis and M. Litvaitis. In Final Review. Effects of habitat fragmentation on genetic structure of the imperiled New England cottontail. Ms submitted to Conservation Genetics.

Wirgin, I., A. I. Kovach, L. Maceda, R. Nirmal, J. Waldman, and D.L. Berlinsky 2007. Stock identification of Atlantic cod in U.S. waters using microsatellite and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) DNA analyses. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 136: 375-391.

Litvaitis, J.A., J.P. Tash, M.K. Litvaitis, M.N. Marchand, A.I. Kovach, and R. Innes. 2006. A range-wide inventory of the current distribution of New England cottontails. Wildlife Society Bulletin 34(4): 1190-1197.

Kovach, A.I., M.K. Litvaitis, and J.A. Litvaitis. 2003. Evaluation of fecal mtDNA analysis as a method to determine the geographic range of a rare lagomorph. Wildlife Society Bulletin. 31(4): 1061-1065.

Kovach, A.I. and R.A. Powell. 2003.  Influence of body size on male mating tactics and paternity in black bears, Ursus americanus. Canadian Journal of Zoology. 81:1257-1268.