Professor Mike Bruford

FLSW

Dean for Environmental Sustainability, Co-director Sustainable Places Research Institute

: brufordmw@cardiff.ac.uk
: +44 (0)29 2087 4312
Fax:: +44 (0)29 2087 4116
: Sir Martin Evans Building, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3AX

: Media commentator
: Available for postgraduate supervision

I am a molecular ecologist interested in studying the demographic and evolutionary processes affecting populations, species and ecosystems of conservation concern. We focus on understanding the determinants of genomic diversity, population structure and fitness across species and at a variety of spatio-temporal scales, including studying the behaviour and movements of individuals within their breeding territories, examining how demography and social structure interact with genetic diversity in fragmented ecosystems, through to understanding the partitioning of genomic diversity in species with high vagility and continent-wide ranges. We focus our projects on trying to understand basic evolutionary processes but we place substantial emphasis on provision of data and recommendations to management authorities for action and policy development.

Our work includes wild and domestic species, including livestock breeds, for which demographic history is often well understood and where genome resources are abundant. We use methods from forensic DNA profiling through to whole genome sequencing and integrate these data with environmental data and genealogical and stochastic population modeling in an effort to provide comprehensive information for biodiversity management and conservation. Much of our work is carried out in collaboration with applied conservation organisations, including the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Bristol Zoo, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, the Ryeland and Lleyn Sheep Societies. We also work directly within and in collaboration with the IUCN Species Survival Commission, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation and Welsh Government.

I did my PhD at the University of Leicester on the development of DNA fingerprinting techniques in birds and genome mapping in chickens using minisatellite DNA markers between 1986 and 1990. Between 1990 and 1999 I worked as a postdoctoral research associate, research fellow and then Head of Conservation Genetics at the Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London. I joined Cardiff University in 1999 and led the Organisms and Environment Division between 2010 and 2015. I am currently a co-Director of the University's Sustainable Places Research Institute, where I am involved in a variety of projects linking natural and social sciences in place-based sustainability research.

I am on the editorial boards of Royal Society Open Science, Conservation Genetics Resources, Frontiers in Genetics, Integrative Zoology and Endangered Species Research. I have previously served on the editorial review board for Molecular Ecology and was a founding editor for the journal Animal Conservation. I served as Editor-in-Chief of Heredity between 2012 and 2016.

I am academic lead for the Wales Biodiversity Partnership's Evidence Gaps Project and regularly serve on grant panels in the UK (NERC), Finland (Finnish Academy) and for the European Commission (Horizon 2020).I was awarded the Zoological Society of London's Scientific Medal in 2003, was elected a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales in 2010 and I was a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award holder (2012-2016). I am co-Chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission's Conservation Genetics Specialist Group (2015-2020).

2003

Bruford, M. W.et al. 2003. Conservation of the orang-utan in Kinbatangan Wildlife Sanctuary, Sabah, Malaysia. Project Report. [Online]. London: Darwin Initiative, DEFRA. Available at: http://darwin.defra.gov.uk/documents/9016/21258/09-016%20FR%20-%20edited.pdf
Bruford, M. W., Bradley, D. G. and Luikart, G. 2003. DNA markers reveal the complexity of livestock domestication. Nature Reviews Genetics 4(11), pp. 900-910. (10.1038/nrg1203)
Bruford, M. W. 2003. Essential elements of biodiversity? [Book review]. Heredity 90(6), pp. 413-414. (10.1038/sj.hdy.6800227)
Telfer, P. T.et al. 2003. Molecular evidence for deep phylogenetic divergence in Mandrillus sphinx. Molecular Ecology 12(7), pp. 2019-2024. (10.1046/j.1365-294X.2003.01877.x)
Radespiel, U.et al. 2003. Patterns and dynamics of sex-biased dispersal in a nocturnal primate, the grey mouse lemur, Microcebus murinus. Animal Behaviour 65(4), pp. 709-719. (10.1006/anbe.2003.2121)
Reynolds, J. D.et al. 2003. Editorial. Animal Conservation 6(1), pp. 1-2. (10.1017/S1367943003003019)
Clifford, S. L.et al. 2003. Genetic studies of western gorillas. In: Taylor, A. B. and Goldsmith, M. L. eds. Gorilla Biology: a Multidisciplinary Perspective. Cambridge studies in biological and evolutionary anthropology Vol. 35. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 269-292.
Wheeler, J. C.et al. 2003. Genetic diversity and management implications for vicuna populations in Peru. In: Lemons, J., Victor, R. and Schaffer, D. eds. Conserving Biodiversity in Arid Regions: Best Practices in Developing Nations. Boston: Kluwer, pp. 327-344.

2002

Groombridge, J. J.et al. 2002. A molecular phylogeny of African kestrels with reference to divergence across the Indian Ocean. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 25(2), pp. 267-277. (10.1016/S1055-7903(02)00254-3)
Goossens, B.et al. 2002. Measuring genetic diversity in translocation programmes: principles and application to a chimpanzee release project. Animal Conservation 5(3), pp. 225-236. (10.1017/S1367943002002275)
Engh, A. L.et al. 2002. Reproductive skew among males in a female-dominated mammalian society. Behavioral Ecology 13(2), pp. 193-200. (10.1093/beheco/13.2.193)
Paulo, O. S.et al. 2002. The double origin of Iberian peninsular chameleons. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 75(1), pp. 1-7. (10.1046/j.1095-8312.2002.00002.x)
Williams, H. C., Wilcock, H. R. and Bruford, M. W. 2002. Microsatellite loci for the mayfly Baetis rhodani (Baetidae, Ephemeroptera). Molecular Ecology Notes 2(4), pp. 411-412. (10.1046/j.1471-8286.2002.00259.x)
Seabra, S. G.et al. 2002. Microsatellite loci isolated from the Mediterranean species Cicada barbara (Stal) and C. orni L. (Hemiptera, Cicadoidea). Molecular Ecology Notes 2(2), pp. 173-175. (10.1046/j.1471-8286.2002.00184.x)
Paulo, O. S.et al. 2002. Using nested clade analysis to assess the history of colonization and the persistence of populations of an Iberian Lizard. Molecular Ecology 11(4), pp. 809-819. (10.1046/j.1365-294X.2002.01484.x)
Hammond, R. L., Bruford, M. W. and Bourke, A. F. G. 2002. Ant workers selfishly bias sex ratios by manipulating female development. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 269(1487), pp. 173-178. (10.1098/rspb.2001.1860)
Utami, S. S.et al. 2002. Male bimaturism and reproductive success in Sumatran orang-utans. Behavioral Ecology 13(5), pp. 643-652. (10.1093/beheco/13.5.643)
Bruford, M. W. 2002. Biodiversity - evolution, species, genes. In: Norris, K. and Pain, D. J. eds. Conserving Bird Biodiversity: General Principle and their Application. Conservation Biology Vol. 7. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 1-19.

2001

Wilcock, H. R.et al. 2001. Microsatellites for the net-spinning caddisfly Plectrocnemia conspersa (Polycentropodidae). Molecular Ecology Notes 1(4), pp. 318-319. (10.1046/j.1471-8278.2001.00123.x)
Tutin, C. E. G.et al. 2001. Conservation biology framework for the release of wild-born orphaned chimpanzees into the Conkouati Reserve, Congo. Conservation Biology 15(5), pp. 1247-1257. (10.1111/j.1523-1739.2001.00046.x)
Garnier, J. N., Bruford, M. W. and Goossens, B. 2001. Mating system and reproductive skew in the black rhinoceros. Molecular Ecology 10(8), pp. 2031-2041. (10.1046/j.0962-1083.2001.01338.x)
Paolo, O. S.et al. 2001. The persistence of Pliocene populations through the Pleistocene climatic cycles: evidence from the phylogeography of an Iberian lizard. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 268(1476), pp. 1625-1630. (10.1098/rspb.2001.1706)
Jeffery, K. J.et al. 2001. The development of microsatellite loci in the song sparrow, Melospiza melodia (Aves) and genotyping errors associated with good quality DNA. Molecular Ecology Notes 1(1-2), pp. 11-13. (10.1046/j.1471-8278.2000.00005.x)
Beaumont, M.et al. 2001. Genetic diversity and introgression in the Scottish Wildcat. Molecular Ecology 10(2), pp. 319-336. (10.1046/j.1365-294x.2001.01196.x)
Hammond, R. L., Bourke, A. F. G. and Bruford, M. W. 2001. Mating frequency and mating system of the polygynous ant, Leptothorax acervorum. Molecular Ecology 10(11), pp. 2719-2728. (10.1046/j.0962-1083.2001.01394.x)
Kadwell, M.et al. 2001. Genetic analysis reveals the wild ancestors of the llama and the alpaca. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 268(1485), pp. 2575-2584. (10.1098/rspb.2001.1774)
Radespiel, U.et al. 2001. Sociogenetic structure in a free-living nocturnal primate population: sex-specific differences in the grey mouse lemur ( Microcebus murinus ). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 50(6), pp. 493-502. (10.1007/s002650100402)
Pryor, K. V.et al. 2001. Diversity, genetic structure and evidence of outcrossing in British populations of the rock fern Adiantum capillus-venerisusing microsatellites. Molecular Ecology 10(8), pp. 1881-1894. (10.1046/j.1365-294X.2001.01343.x)
Hammond, R. L.et al. 2001. Phylogenetic reanalysis of the Saudi gazelle and its implications for conservation. Conservation Biology 15(4), pp. 1123-1133. (10.1046/j.1523-1739.2001.0150041123.x)
Keller, L. F.et al. 2001. Immigration and the ephemerality of a natural population bottleneck: evidence from molecular markers. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 268(1474), pp. 1387-1394. (10.1098/rspb.2001.1607)
Nichols, R. A., Bruford, M. W. and Groombridge, J. J. 2001. Sustaining genetic variation in a small population: evidence from the Mauritius kestrel. Molecular Ecology 10(3), pp. 593-602. (10.1046/j.1365-294x.2001.01204.x)
Groombridge, J. J.et al. 2001. Evaluating the severity of the population bottleneck in the Mauritius kestrel Falco punctatus from ringing records using MCMC estimation. Journal of Animal Ecology 70(3), pp. 401-409. (10.1046/j.1365-2656.2001.00502.x)
Chikhi, L., Bruford, M. W. and Beaumont, M. A. 2001. Estimation of admixture proportions: a likelihood-based approach using Markov Chain Monte Carlo. Genetics 158(3), pp. 1347-1362.
Radespiel, U.et al. 2001. Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci in the grey mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus) and their amplification in the family Cheirogaleidae. Molecular Ecology Notes 1(1-2), pp. 16-18. (10.1046/j.1471-8278.2000.0007.x)

2000

Groombridge, J. J.et al. 2000. 'Ghost' alleles of the Mauritius kestrel. Nature 403, pp. 616. (10.1038/35001148)
Bayes, M. K.et al. 2000. Testing the reliability of microsatellite typing from faecal DNA in the savannah baboon. Conservation Genetics 1(2), pp. 173-176. (10.1023/A:1026595324974)
Goossens, B.et al. 2000. A multi-samples, multi-extracts approach for microsatellite analysis of faecal samples in an arboreal ape. Conservation Genetics 1(2), pp. 157-162. (10.1023/A:1026535006318)
Smith, K. L.et al. 2000. Cross-species amplification, non-invasive genotyping, and non-Mendelian inheritance of human STRPs in savannah baboons. American Journal of Primatology 51(4), pp. 219-227. (10.1002/1098-2345(200008)51:4<219::AID-AJP1>3.0.CO;2-G)
Goossens, B.et al. 2000. Twenty new microsatellite loci for use with hair and faecal samples in the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes troglodytes). Folia Primatologica 71(3), pp. 177-180. (10.1159/000021738)
Holbrook, J. D.et al. 2000. Molecular adaptation of alanine: Glyoxylate aminotransferase targeting in primates. Molecular Biology and Evolution 17(3), pp. 387-400.

1999

Ciofi, C. and Bruford, M. W. 1999. Genetic structure and gene flow among Komodo dragon populations inferred by microsatellite loci analysis. Molecular Ecology 8(s1), pp. S17-S30. (10.1046/j.1365-294X.1999.00734.x)
Ciofi, C.et al. 1999. Genetic divergence and units for conservation in the Komodo dragon Varanus komodensis. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 266(1435), pp. 2269-2274. (10.1098/rspb.1999.0918)
Clifford, S. L.et al. 1999. Identification of polymorphic microsatellite loci in the gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) using human primers: Application to noninvasively collected hair samples. Molecular Ecology 8(9), pp. 1556-1558. (10.1046/j.1365-294X.1999.07184.x)
Barratt, E. M.et al. 1999. Genetic structure of fragmented populations of red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) in the UK. Molecular Ecology 8(S1), pp. S55-S63. (10.1046/j.1365-294X.1999.00771.x)
Saccheri, I. J.et al. 1999. Inbreeding of bottlenecked butterfly populations: estimation using the likelihood of changes in marker allele frequencies. Genetics 151(3), pp. 1053-1063.

1998

Ciofi, C. and Bruford, M. W. 1998. Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci in the Komodo dragon Varanus komodoensis. Molecular Ecology 7(1), pp. 134-136.
Jordan, W. C. and Bruford, M. W. 1998. New perspectives on mate choice and the MHC. Heredity 81(3), pp. 239-245. (10.1038/sj.hdy.6884280)
O'Ryan, C.et al. 1998. Microsatellite analysis of genetic diversity in fragmented South African buffalo populations. Animal Conservation 1(2), pp. 85-94. (10.1111/j.1469-1795.1998.tb00015.x)
Bruford, M. W. 1998. Conservation genetics finally brought to book - but is it really worth the money?. Biodiversity and Conservation 7, pp. 405-407.
Beaumont, M. A. and Bruford, M. W. 1998. Marking inferences in population genetics. Zoo Biology 17(2), pp. 157-158. (10.1002/(SICI)1098-2361(1998)17:2<157::AID-ZOO11>3.0.CO;2-8)
Bruford, M. and Saccheri, I. J. 1998. DNA fingerprinting with VNTR probes. In: Karp, A., Isaac, P. G. and Ingram, D. S. eds. Molecular Tools for Screening Biodiversity. London: Chapman and Hall, pp. 99-108.
Jordan, W. C., Foley, K. and Bruford, M. W. 1998. Single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis. In: Karp, A., Isaac, P. G. and Ingram, D. S. eds. Molecular Tools for Biodiversity: Plants and Animals. London: Chapman and Hall, pp. 152-156.
Ciofi, C.et al. 1998. Genotyping with microsatellite markers. In: Karp, A., Isaac, P. G. and Ingram, D. S. eds. Molecular Tools for Screening Biodiversity: Plants and Animals., Vol. Part 2. London: Springer, pp. 195-201., (10.1007/978-94-009-0019-6_38)
Bruford, M. W., Ciofi, C. and Funk, S. 1998. Characteristics of microsatellites. In: Karp, A., Isaac, P. G. and Ingram, D. S. eds. Molecular Tools for Screening and Biodiversity. London: Chapman and Hall, pp. 202-205.
Beaumont, M. A.et al. 1998. Measuring genetic distance. In: Karp, A., Isaac, P. G. and Ingram, D. S. eds. Molecular Tools for Screening and Biodiversity. Chapman and Hall, pp. 315-325.
Bruford, M. W. and Beaumont, M. A. 1998. Binary data analysis. In: Karp, A., Isaac, P. G. and Ingram, D. S. eds. Molecular Tools for Screening Biodiversity. Chapman and Hall, London, pp. 329-331.
Bruford, M. W., Hanotte, O. and Burke, T. 1998. Multi and single locus DNA fingerprinting. In: Hoelzel, A. R. ed. Molecular Genetic Analysis of Populations: A Practical Approach. IRL Press, pp. 225-269.

1997

Jabbour, H. N., Hayssen, V. and Bruford, M. W. 1997. Conservation of deer: contributions from molecular biology, evolutionary ecology, and reproductive physiology. Journal of Zoology 243(3), pp. 461-484. (10.1111/j.1469-7998.1997.tb02795.x)
Faulkes, C. G.et al. 1997. Micro and macrogeographical genetic structure of colonies of naked mole-rats Heterocephalus glaber. Molecular Ecology 6(7), pp. 615-628. (10.1046/j.1365-294X.1997.00227.x)
Smith, T. B.et al. 1997. A role for ecotones in generating rainforest biodiversity. Science 276(5320), pp. 1855-1857. (10.1126/science.276.5320.1855)
Barratt, E. M.et al. 1997. DNA answers the call of pipistrelle bat species. Nature 387, pp. 138-139. (10.1038/387138b0)
Bourke, A. F. G., Green, H. A. A. and Bruford, M. W. 1997. Parentage, reproductive skew and queen turnover in a multiple-queen ant analysed with microsatellites. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 264(1379), pp. 277-283. (10.1098/rspb.1997.0039)
Faulkes, C. G.et al. 1997. Ecological constraints drive social evolution in the African mole-rats. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 264(1388), pp. 1619-1627.
Karp, A.et al. 1997. Molecular technologies for biodiversity evaluation: Opportunities and challenges. Nature Biotechnology 15(7), pp. 625-628. (10.1038/nbt0797-625)
Barratt, E. M.et al. 1997. DNA answers the call of pipistrelle bat species. Nature 387, pp. 138-139. (10.1038/387138b0)
Mace, G. M.et al. 1997. An overview of the issues. In: Smith, T. B. and Wayne, R. K. eds. Molecular Genetic Approaches in Conservation. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 3-21.
Barratt, E. M.et al. 1997. Genetic diversity among fragmented populations of red squirrel: a preliminary study. In: Gurnell, J. and Lurz, P. eds. The Conservation of Red Squirrels, Sciurus vulgaris L. London: People's Trust for Endangered Species, pp. 61-66.

1996

Altmann, J.et al. 1996. Behavior predicts genes structure in a wild primate group. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 93(12), pp. 5797-5801. (10.1073/pnas.93.12.5797)
Coote, T. and Bruford, M. W. 1996. Human microsatellites applicable for analysis of genetic variation in apes and old world monkeys. Journal of Heredity 87(5), pp. 406-410.
Bruford, M. W.et al. 1996. Microsatellites and their application to conservation genetics. In: Smith, T. B. and Wayne, R. K. eds. Molecular Genetic Approaches in Conservation. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 278-297.

1995

Barratt, E. M.et al. 1995. Phylogenic relationships of the vespertillionid bat genus pipistrellus. In: Racey, P. A. and Swift, S. eds. Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour of Bats. Symposia of the Zoological Society of London Vol. 67. Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp. 377-386.
Williams, T. R.et al. 1995. A molecular analysis of the introduced Reeves' muntjac in Southern England - genetic variation in the mitochondrial genome. In: Muntjac Deer - Their Biology, Impact and Management in Britain. Forestry Authority Press, pp. 6-22.

1994

Bruford, M. W., Hanotte, O. and Burke, T. 1994. Minisatellite DNA markers in the chicken genome. Isolation and characterization of minisatellite loci. Animal Genetics 25(6), pp. 391-399. (10.1111/j.1365-2052.1994.tb00529.x)
Bruford, M. W. and Burke, T. 1994. Minisatellite DNA markers in the chicken genome. I Distribution and abundance of minisatellites in multilocus DNA fingerprints. Animal Genetics 25(6), pp. 381-389. (10.1111/j.1365-2052.1994.tb00528.x)
Partridge, L. and Bruford, M. W. 1994. Population biology: a crash course in survival. Nature 372(6504), pp. 318-319.
Bruford, M. W., Hanotte, O. and Burke, T. 1994. Minisatellite DNA markers in the chicken genome. II isolation and characterization of minisatellite loci. Animal Genetics 25(6), pp. 391-399.
Wayne, R. K.et al. 1994. Molecular genetics of endangered species. In: Olney, P. J., Mace, G. and Feistner, A. T. C. eds. Creative Conservation: Interactive Management of wild and captive animals. London: Chapman and Hall, pp. 92-117.

1993

Saccheri, I. J. and Bruford, M. W. 1993. DNA Fingerprinting in a Butterfly, Bicyclus anynana (Satyridae). Journal of Heredity 84(3), pp. 195-200.
Bruford, M. W. and Altmann, J. 1993. DNA fingerprinting and the problems of paternity determination in an inbred captive population of guinea baboons (Papio hamadryas papio). Primates 34(3), pp. 403-411. (10.1007/BF02382636)
Smith, T. B., Bruford, M. W. and Wayne, R. K. 1993. The preservation of process: the missing element of conservation programs. Biodiversity Letters 1, pp. 164-167.
Wickings, E. J. and Bruford, M. W. 1993. Molecular ecology — The present and the future. Primates 34(3), pp. 377-379. (10.1007/BF02382633)
Bruford, M. W. and RK, W. 1993. Microsatellites and their application to population genetic studies. Current Opinion in Genetics & Development 3(6), pp. 939-943. (10.1016/0959-437X(93)90017-J)
Bruford, M. W. and Wayne, R. K. 1993. The use of molecular genetic techniques to address conservation questions. In: Garte, S. J. ed. Molecular Environmental Biology. Boca Raton, Fl: CRC Press, pp. 11-28.

1992

Hanotte, O., Bruford, M. W. and Burke, T. 1992. Multilocus DNA fingerprints in gallinaceous birds: general approach and problems. Heredity 68(6), pp. 481-494. (10.1038/hdy.1992.71)
Bruford, M. W.et al. 1992. Multi and single locus DNA fingerprinting. In: Hoelzel, A. R. ed. Molecular Analysis of Populations: A Practical Approach. Oxford: IRL Press, pp. 225-269.

1991

Bruford, M. W. and Burke, T. 1991. Hypervariable DNA markers and their applications in the chicken. Presented at: First International symposium on DNA Fingerprinting, Bern, Switzerland, 1-3 October 1990 Presented at Dolf, G. ed.DNA Fingerprinting: Approaches and Applications: Proceedings of the First International Symposium on DNA Fingerprinting held at Bern, 1st-3rd October 1990. Experientia Supplementum Vol. 58. Basel: Birkhäuser pp. 230-242.
Burke, T.et al. 1991. Multilocus and single locus minisatellite analysis in population studies. In: Burke, T. et al. eds. DNA Fingerprinting: Approaches and Applications. Experientia Supplementum Vol. 58. Basel, Switzerland: Birkhauser-Verlag, Basel, pp. 154-168., (10.1007/978-3-0348-7312-3_12)
Bruford, M. W., Krupa, A. P. and Burke, T. 1991. Genetic Variatrion in the Jersey captive population of the pink pigeon (Nesoenas Mayeri) revealed by DNA fingerprinting. In: Pink Pigeon: Conservation Viability Assessment. IUCN/SSC Captive Breeding Specialist Group, Minnesota, pp. 73-80.
Bruford, M. W. 1991. What DNA fingerprinting has told us about bird populations that we didn't know before. Fingerprint News 3(4), pp. 8-10.

1990

Bruford, M. W.et al. 1990. Hypervariable markers in the chicken genome. Presented at: 4th World Congress on Genetics applied to Livestock Production, Edinburgh, Scotland, 23-27 July 1990 Presented at Hill, W. G., Thompson, R. and Woolliams, J. A. eds.Proceedings of the 4th World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production : Edinburgh, 23-27 July, 1990, Vol. XIII. Edinburgh: Organising Committee, 4th World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production pp. 139-142.

1989

Burke, T.et al. 1989. Parental care and mating behaviour of polyandrous dunnocks Prunella modularis related to paternity by DNA fingerprinting. Nature 338(6212), pp. 249-251. (10.1038/338249a0)

1987

Burke, T. and Bruford, M. W. 1987. DNA fingerprinting in birds. Nature 327(6118), pp. 149-152. (10.1038/327149a0)

I teach Evolutionary Biology, Biodiversity Conservation and Applied Genetics (first and second year biological sciences), Animal Diversity (primates - second year biological sciences), a large portion of the Biodiversity and Conservation Biology module (third year biological sciences) and participate in the Rainforest Biodiversity Assessment field course we run at Danau Girang Field Centre at the end of Year 2 Biological Sciences.

My research focuses on the application of molecular genetics and genomics to the conservation of endangered species and livestock. We try to understand how genetic diversity evolves in small populations, the role that local adaptation plays in this evolution and its consequence for conservation biology and management. Research in this field must be collaborative and our projects are based in countries including China (collaborators: Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences), Malaysia (Danau Girang Field Centre, Sabah Wildlife Department) and South Africa (Universities of Pretoria and Venda, National Zoological Gardens of South Africa).

We have focused on using molecular data in elusive species to assist direct conservation management questions. Implementation of conservation management plans for such species has strong implications for the viability of other species inhabiting the same ecosystems and such 'flagship' organisms can provide umbrella protection for biodiversity as a whole, yet the biology of long-lived and enigmatic organisms such as the giant panda and Bornean orang-utan is surprisingly poorly understood. Our recent research on these organisms was recognized in Discover magazine's top 100 scientific breakthroughs for 2006, where two of our studies (Goossens et al 2006; Zhan et al 2006) were recognized.

I am also interested in zoological biobanking for conservation and research and have been a Trustee and now Director of the Frozen Ark project ( www.frozenark.org ) and we recently have been awarded funding from the BBSRC's BBR program to establish a UK-wide zoological biobank for research and conservation, called CryoArks (2018 - 2021).

Current Projects

Cryoarks

BBSRC BBR funded project led by Cardiff University (Mike Bruford with Mafalda Costa) to eastablish a zoological biobanking network for the UK. Partners including the Natural History Museum (Co-Is Aidan Emery and Tim Littlewood with Jackie Mackenzie Dodds and Kirsty Lloyd), the National Museums of Scotland (Co-I Andrew Kitchener with Gill Murray-Dickson), Nottingham University (Co-I Lisa Yon), Edinburgh University (Co-I Rob Ogden) and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (WildGenes lab, Edinburgh Zoo, Helen Senn also with Gill Murray Dickson). Our project has the backing and involvment of the European Association and the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums and from many museums and many universities and research institutes around the UK. We aim to double the UK collection of zoological specimens in three years and to make these discoverable for conservation and research using the Specify database system ( http://www.sustain.specifysoftware.org ) and to provide the undepinning frozen infrastructure to sustainably and responsibly manage these resources into the future. Our website will be available in January 2019. Project runs 1/7/2018 - 30/6/2021.

G-Bike

G-Bike is a COST action project (CA18134), coordinated by Dr Cristiano Vernesi (Fundazione Edmund Mach, Trento, Italy) that builds on our ConGRESS project (see below) to provide a framework for the introduction and utilisation of genomic data into conservation management strategies and actions across Europe. Cardiff (Prof Mike Bruford) is one of the UK's two Management Committee members. The project will run from April 2019 - March 2022.

Recent Projects

Climgen

The Climgen project (Climate Genomics for Farm Animal Adaptation - https://climgen.bios.cf.ac.uk ) was led by Cardiff University (Mike Bruford, Pablo Orozco-terWengel, Isa-Rita Russo) and ran from 2015 - 2018 funded as a Coordination and Support Action project by bthe European Commission. The project focuses on the development of tools and analysis of existing data for livestock populations experiencing climatic extremes across Eurasia and the tropics. The project has partners in Italy (Licia Colli, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Piacenza and Filipo Biscarini, Parco Tecnologico di Padano), Romania (Agriculture and Veterinary University of Cluj Napoca, Augustin Vlaic, Antonia Odagiu, Bogdan Vlaic), Finland (LUKE, Juha Kantanen, Kisun Pokharel, Ismo Stranden), Spain (Complutense University of Madrid, Susana Dunner, Javier Canon, Natalia Sevane - who was a Marie Curie Fellow in Cardiff at the same time on the project AdaptClim) and France (Francois Pompanon).

Congress

As part of out policy and management activities, we coordinated an EU Framework 7 Support Action Project ConGRESS which provides genetic information in a user-friendly and well-used web portal ( http://www.congressgenetics.eu/Default.aspx ) to policy-makers and biodiversity managers across the European Union. The project involved 13 partners across the EU and end-users from 19 countries, whose input guided the development of the portal during 2012 and 2013. The website is still active and is providing a template for a number of similar initiatives.

Nextgen

As conservation is becoming more focused on genome-level analysis, whole genome-based population and evolutionary genetic analysis is now routinely used in conservation programs. We participated in the Nextgen Framework 7 project (http://nextgen.epfl.ch/), coordinated by Prof Pierre Taberlet, Universite Grenoble-Alpes and our research focused on genome-wide analysis of local adaptation in Moroccan sheep, systematically sampled across an extreme environmental gradient (temperature, rainfall) north and south of the Atlas mountains.

Falcon Genome project

Our long-term project on falcon genomics involves collaboration with the Institue of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing (Prof Xiangjiang Zhan), the Abu Dhabi Falconer's Club (Dr Andrew Dixon). Cardiff University and IoZ have a joint laboratory on biocomplexity research and Mike Bruford was a President's International Fellow, spending three months in Beijing in 2018.

Peregrine and saker falcon genome resources:

Note: if required please use username 'nopriv' and password 'bruford' to access the above downloads.

Grants

Our work has been supported by:

The Royal Society
The European Commission
The Environment Agency Abu Dhabi
The Leverhulme Trust
NERC
BBSRC

Collaborations

Examples within the School and University include:

Dr Pablo Orozco terWengel: livestock genomics, population genetics of endangered species (Ryland Sheep Society, Durrell, Zoological Society of London, PhD students Jody Leigh Edmunds, Dan Pitt)
Dr Frank Hailer: carnivore landscape genetics and genomics (PhD student Nia Thomas, MRes student Will Littlejohn)
Dr Benoit Goossens: conservation genetics and landscape management of the Kinabtangan Wildlife Sanctuary (PhD students Senthilvel Nathan and Juan Manual Aguilar Leon, Danau Girang Field Centre)
Prof Susan Baker (Sustainable Places Research Institute), Dr TC Hales (School of Earth and Ocean Sciences), Dr Leanne Cullen-Unsworth, Dr Poppy Nicol: resilience in coupled natural-social systems

Other external examples include:

Prof Tamas Szekely (University of Bath): Landscape genetics of wetland birds (PhD student Josie Jackson)
Professor Fuwen Wei (Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Zoology): Landscape genetics of giant pandas (PhD student Tianxiao Ma).
Dr Grainne McCabe (Bristol Zoo): conservation genetics of the Sanje Mangabey, Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania (PhD student Christina Paddock)
Prof Yoshan Moodley (University of Venda) and Prof Love Dalen (Swedish Museum of Natural History): Population and conservation genomics of the black rhinoceros (Dr Isa Rita Russo)

Research group

Postdoctoral/Fellows

Dr Mafalda Costa (CryoArks project)
Dr Isa-Rita Russo (Climgen project and black rhino genomics)
Dr Maria Joana Ferreira da Silva (FCT funded Conservation genomics of west African primates)
Dr Robyn Shaw (Australian Endeavour Fellowship on landscape genomics of natal multi-mammate mouse)

PhD Students

Juan Manuel Aguilar Leon (CONCYTEC, Peru - anuran diversity in the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary)
Christina Paddock (NERC iCASE - Bristol Zoo Gardens - conservation genomics of the Sanje Mangabey)
Nia Thomas (NERC GW4 - with Dr Liz Chadwick and Frank Hailer at Cardiff and Prof Robbie Macdonald at Exeter Falmouth - landscape genetics of a recovering otter population)
Josie Jackson (NERC GW4 - Bath University with Dr Tamas Szekely - population genomics of African jacanas) - JUST GRADUATED
Isa Pais (FCT with Dr Tania Minhos, New University of Lisbon - chimpanzee and colobine dietary diversity in Sierra Leone and Guine Bissau)
Sen Nathan (Danau Girang Field Centre - population genetics of Sabah's proboscis monkeys)
Paul Robinson (self-funded, with Dr Rob Thomas - avian diversity as a function of protected area status in northern Sierra Leone)

Conservation Biology

Genomics

Evolutionary Biology

Livestock genetics

Population genetics

Current supervision

Daniel Pitt

Research student

Christina Paddock

Research student

Isa Gameiro Aleixo Pais

Research student

Jody Leigh Edmunds

Research student

Nina White

Research student

Nia Thomas

Research student

Juan Aguilar Leon

Research student

Paul Robinson

Research student

Past projects

I have supervised or co-supervised a total of 54 PhD students to completion. Most recently, these have included those funded via the NERC GW4+ Doctoral Training Program (Josie Jackson - project on Madagascan jacanas with Bath University), The Cardiff University President's studentship scheme (Hannah Macdonald - project on freshwater macroinvertebrate diversity), NERC's iCASE program (Dave Stanton - project on okapi conservation genetics with ZSL) and the Sardinian government's Master and Back scheme (Mario Barbato and Pierfrancesco Sechi - projects on Sardinian mouflon genomics and earthworm phylogeography, respectively).

Professor Mike Bruford

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Articles

Books

Book sections

Conferences

Monographs

Current Projects

Cryoarks

G-Bike

Recent Projects

Climgen

Congress

Nextgen

Falcon Genome project

Grants

Collaborations

Research group

Postdoctoral/Fellows

PhD Students

Current supervision

Past projects

Areas of expertise

Related news

External profiles