Don J. Melnick

Don J. Melnick

Biography

In addition to heading the Center for Environmental Research and Conservation at Columbia University, Dr. Melnick is a professor in the Departments of Anthropology and Biological Sciences. His research interests include population genetics, molecular systematics, and their uses in evolutionary and conservation research. He has sought to understand the behavioral factors underlying the genetic structures of primate populations, use them to model the dynamics of genetic change, and examine the assumptions used to construct molecular phylogenies and date evolutionary events. Dr. Melnick's research initially focused on the evolutionary genetic consequences of extreme female philopatry (sedentism) in different species of macaque. More recently he has extended this research to Asian leaf-monkeys and gibbon apes. He also works on the conservation genetics of a variety of vertebrates, including African and Asian rhinoceros, the Asian elephant, Southeast Asian tree frogs, and Brazil's black lion tamarin. Dr. Melnick and his research group are currently working on ways to use genetic and quantitative methods to pinpoint specific geographic regions that exhibit high and/or unique genetic diversity across many different species for purposes of conservation planning. They are also committed to creating an international cadre of conservation geneticists through training and research. Dr. Melnick received his Ph.D. in physical anthropology from Yale University in 1981.

Relevant Publications

Andayani, N., J.C. Morales, M.R.J. Forstner, J. Supriatna, and D. J. Melnick. In press. Genetic variability in mitochondrial DNA of the Javan gibbon (Hylobates moloch): Implications for the conservation of a critically endangered species. Conservation Biology.

Melnick, D.J., J.C. Morales, and R.L. Honeycutt. 1999. Conservation genetics: Applying molecular methods to maximize the conservation of taxonomic and genetic diversity. In Nature and Human Society: The Quest for a Sustainable World (Proceedings of the Second National forum on Biodiversity), pp. 254-265.

Gonder, M.K., J.R. Oates, T.R. Disotell, M.R.J. Forstner, J.C. Morales, and D.J. Melnick. 1997. A new west African chimpanzee subspecies? Nature, 388: 337.

Melnick, D. J., and G. A. Hoelzer. 1996. Genetic consequences of macaque social organization and behavior. In Evolution and Ecology of Macaque Societies. pp. 412-442. J. E. Fa and D. G. Lindburg, eds. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge t.

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