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 John Bates, Ph.D.
Member, Pritzker Lab Management Committee
Chairman, Department of Zoology
Associate Curator, Birds
John Bates is Chair of the Zoology Department and an Associate Curator in the Division of Birds. He studies the genetic structure of birds, meaning that he investigates how populations within species and closely related species are related to one another in terms of the similarity in their basic genetic material (DNA).
These genetic studies help scientists understand what factors have influenced the evolution of a species. For conservation purposes, data on genetic structure can reveal the status and distinctiveness of populations, which helps scientists argue for the need to conserve habitat when that habitat harbors genetically differentiated populations.
For example, on a map of Amazon Basin it may appear that extensive forests are completely connected to one another. However, Dr. Bates’s data for birds shows that there are often genetically distinctive populations within so-called species across the Amazon Basin. This means that the Amazon Basin is not a homogenous region of forest, but a complex association of forest blocks where animal populations have been evolving separately in different sections for up to several million years.
 From a conservation perspective, this means that it is not possible to conserve all or even most of the biodiversity in Amazonia by preserving forest in a few regions with lower human populations, because each region has evolutionarily distinct populations.
To help conserve this biodiversity, Dr. Bates trains and collaborates with scientists in each country who can study and explain the value of biological diversity to their own people. As a result he has brought researchers to Chicago from all over the world to work in and learn from the Museum’s collections. These training programs focus on skills necessary to document biodiversity and establish, preserve, and use data-rich collections of local fauna.
To learn more, check out Dr. Bates Curriculum Vitae.
Continue to Kevin Feldheim. >>
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