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Lisette Waits
Research/Focus Areas
  • Conservation Biology
  • Conservation Genetics
  • Molecular Ecology
  • Landscape Genetics
  • Endangered Species Ecology and Management
Academic Programs
My Courses
  • WLF 540: Conservation Genetics (F)
  • WLF 504: Landscape Genetics (S)
  • WLF 504: Interdisciplinary Research Methods (F)

Lisette Waits

College of Natural Resources
Department of Fish and Wildlife
Professor
Affiliate faculty member CATIE Costa Rica

With UI Since
1997
Office: College of Natural Resources 103D
Phone: (208) 885-7823
Email: lwaits@uidaho.edu
Mailing Address:
Fish and Wildlife Resources
CNR 103D
Moscow , Idaho 83844-1136

Curriculum Vitae
  • Ph.D. Genetics University of Utah 1996
  • B.S. Genetics University of Georgia 1991

Lisette grew up in rural Georgia with dreams of one day becoming a scientist and studying wild animals. After obtaining a doctorate at the University of Utah working on genetic diversity and structure of grizzly bears, she traveled to Grenoble, France, to start a postdoc at the Universite Joseph Fourier studying the conservation genetics of brown bears in France and Scandinavia.  Since joining the faculty at the University of Idaho, Lisette has focused on the conservation genetics, systematics, molecular ecology and landscape genetics of wild populations with particular focus on endangered carnivores.  Lisette was a co-founder of the Laboratory for Conservation and Ecological Genetics and the Center for Research on Invasive Species and Small Populations.  She has been a member of a number of interdisciplinary research teams including an NSF-IGERT funded Ph.D. program in biodiversity conservation and sustainable production in Idaho and Costa Rica.  Lisette’s current research projects focus on a variety of threatened or vulnerable species in Europe, Asia, North and South America.



Selected Publications

  • Viteri MP, LP Waits (in press) Identifying polymorphic microsatellite loci for future use in Andean bear research. Ursus
  • Estes-Zumpf W, JL Rachlow, LP Waits, KI Warheit (in press) Dispersal, gene flow, and population genetic structure in the pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis). Journal of Mammalogy
  • Goldberg CS, LP Waits (in press) Quantification and reduction of bias from sampling larvae to infer population and landscape genetic structure. Molecular Ecology Resources
  • Nielsen-Pincus M, CS Goldberg, A Pocewicz. JE Force, LP Waits, P Morgan, L Vierling (In press) Predicted Effects of Residential Development on a Northern Idaho Landscape under Alternative Growth Management and Land Protection Policies. Landscape and Urban Planning
  • Skribinsek T, M Jelencic, LP Waits, I Kos, P Trontelj (in press) Highly efficient multiplex PCR of noninvasive DNA does not require pre-amplification. Molecular Ecology Resources

Research Projects

 My research in conservation genetics and molecular ecology spans four continents and includes collaborators from North America, Europe, Asia, Central and South America. A few examples are listed below: 

  • Red Wolf Hybridization; Manteo, North Carolina.
  • Landscape Genetic Method Development and Empirical Analyses.
  • Non-invasive genetic monitoring of the reintroduced Italian brown bear population; Trentino, Italy.
  • Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Production in Idaho and Costa Rica; Idaho and Costa Rica. 
  • Population Estimation and Conservation Genetics of the Andean Bear in Ecuador; Ecuador.


Outreach Projects

Landscape Genetic Method Development and Empirical Analyses

  • Landscape genetics is an emerging interdisciplinary research area that combines population genetics, landscape ecology, and spatial statistics and is a major focus of my current research program. The goal of landscape genetics is to describe and explain how landscape attributes affect genetic variation of plant and animal populations. Often, conservation biologists and managers seek to identify specific anthropogenic barriers, such as roads or pastures that reduce gene flow or genetic diversity. Conversely, researchers can examine habitat types that facilitate gene flow to discriminate among proposed biological corridors and assist with reserve design. Researchers may also use data from studies of the impact of land use change on gene flow to model or predict the effects of proposed management alternatives on genetic variation and population connectivity. My students and I have been collaborating with faculty at the UI, WSU, University of Toronto and Universite Joseph Fourier (France) on landscape genetic studies. We are doing a diversity of theoretical and applied studies on this topic. Current research includes landscape genetic studies of Alaska black bears, wolverines, Idaho spotted frogs and salamanders, Idaho ground squirrels and pygmy rabbits, a Costa Rican rain forest tree, macaws in Peru, Andean bears in Ecuador and Mongolian wolves and gazelles.

Awards and Honors

  • 2009 Alumni Award for Excellence, U-Idaho
  • 2009 Best Professional Presentation, Idaho Chapter of the Wildlife Society
  • 2007 Environmental Science Faculty Excellence Award, U-Idaho
  • 2006 Publication of the year for USGS National Wildlife Research Center (with 3 co-authors).
  • 2006 University of Idaho Research Excellence Award
  • 2005 Publication of the year for USGS National Wildlife Research Center (with 3 co-authors).
  • 2005 University of Idaho Teaching Excellence Award
  • 2004 Outstanding Research Award, College of Natural Resources
  • 2003 Outstanding Research Award, College of Natural Resources
  • 2005 Best Oral Presentation - International Bear Association Meeting, Italy
  • 2002 Best Poster - International Bear Association Meeting (with 3 co-authors)
  • 2001 Best Oral Presentation - International Bear Association Meeting (with 3 co-authors)

*You can view a full list of awards, and publications in Lisette's CV.