A spliceosomal intron of mitochondrial DNA origin

provide extensive genome sequencing within dogs and cats to map their genetic diversity. The rewards of these efforts for evolutionary biology are considerable. Well-resolved phylogenetic trees of most carnivore families were early accomplishments. Efforts to map genome diversity have found signals of selection in regions that can be related to specific phenotypes. In the dog, the genetic basis of skeletal, pelage, and behavioral differences among dog breeds has been revealed. The challenges may be greater in natural populations where the signals of selection are more diffuse and compromised by population history and demography, but initial findings seem promising. For example, researchers were able to show that the gene for black coat color in dogs was transferred to North American wolves and swept to high frequency in many populations. This study exemplified how findings and techniques developed for model species can be applied to their 'genome-enabled' close relatives. Many carnivorans are endangered by climate change and habitat loss, and some lineages tend to have high extinction rates when confronted with environmental change. The poster children for these problems are the polar bear and giant panda but the challenges are not well summarized by these two species alone. Aside from habitat loss and climate change, carnivorans are uniquely challenged by the loss of population connectivity because many species, especially large ones, disperse over great distances. Some, such as large east African carnivorans and gray wolves of the high Arctic, migrate >1000 kilometers each year with their prey, and roads, development, and climate change threaten to sever critical ties between areas. Further, the high trophic position of predators makes them vulnerable to compounded bottom-up effects that may be initiated by climate change. Other challenges unique to carnivorans include interactions with humans and their livestock, and the trade for fur and body parts in traditional medicine. These issues demand an integrative approach focused on education and human attitudes, and a redirection of the focus to restoration rather than population control. The gray wolf of the American West provides important lessons in this regard, as the reintroduction of the western wolf is the most successful effort ever for a wild carnivoran. This success hinged on the involvement and education of stakeholders, as well as the fact that the listing of the western gray wolf as an endangered species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act required specific recovery actions. However, this alone is not enough, as …