World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!

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Ecology and Evolution

D-Index
121
Citations
54005
World Ranking
102
National Ranking
38

Genetics

D-Index
118
Citations
51762
World Ranking
411
National Ranking
212

Overview

Robert K. Wayne was affiliated with the University of California, Los Angeles in the United States. Their research primarily spanned the fields of Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, as well as Environmental Science.

The scientist contributed extensively to subfields including Genetics, Ecology, Molecular Biology, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, and Ecological Modeling.

The core topics addressed in their work involved Genetic diversity and population structure, Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Genetic and phenotypic traits in livestock, Environmental DNA in Biodiversity Studies, Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies, Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology, and Bat Biology and Ecology Studies.

Among recent publications, the following papers were notable for their contributions:

  • Strongly deleterious mutations are a primary determinant of extinction risk due to inbreeding depression, 2020, Evolution Letters
  • The critically endangered vaquita is not doomed to extinction by inbreeding depression, 2022, Science
  • Genome sequencing of 2000 canids by the Dog10K consortium advances the understanding of demography, genome function and architecture, 2023, Genome Biology
  • Dire wolves were the last of an ancient New World canid lineage, 2021, Nature
  • Hibernation slows epigenetic ageing in yellow-bellied marmots, 2022, Nature Ecology & Evolution

The scientist frequently published in venues such as bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Journal of Heredity, Molecular Ecology, Molecular Biology and Evolution, and Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research).

Collaborations were established with several recurring co-authors including Kirk E. Lohmueller (10 publications), Christopher C. Kyriazis (9 publications), Bridgett M. vonHoldt (8 publications), Beth Shapiro (8 publications), and Meixi Lin (8 publications).

Best Publications

  • Genome sequence, comparative analysis and haplotype structure of the domestic dog

    Kerstin Lindblad-Toh;Claire M Wade;Claire M Wade;Tarjei S. Mikkelsen;Tarjei S. Mikkelsen;Elinor K. Karlsson;Elinor K. Karlsson

  • Considering evolutionary processes in conservation biology.

    Keith A. Crandall;Olaf R.P. Bininda-Emonds;Georgina M. Mace;Robert K. Wayne

  • Multiple and Ancient Origins of the Domestic Dog

    Carles Vilà;Peter Savolainen;Jesús E. Maldonado;Isabel R. Amorim

  • Transgressive segregation, adaptation and speciation

    Loren H Rieseberg;Margaret A Archer;Robert K Wayne

  • SNPs in ecology, evolution and conservation

    Phillip A. Morin;Gordon Luikart;Robert K. Wayne

  • Genome-wide SNP and haplotype analyses reveal a rich history underlying dog domestication

    Bridgett M. Vonholdt;John P. Pollinger;Kirk E. Lohmueller;Eunjung Han

  • Microsatellites and their application to population genetic studies.

    Michael W. Bruford;Robert K. Wayne

  • Genome 10K: A Proposal to Obtain Whole-Genome Sequence for 10 000 Vertebrate Species

    David Haussler;Stephen J. O'Brien;Oliver A. Ryder;F. Keith Barker

  • Species-specific responses of Late Quaternary megafauna to climate and humans

    Eline D. Lorenzen;David Nogués-Bravo;Ludovic Orlando;Jaco Weinstock

  • A southern California freeway is a physical and social barrier to gene flow in carnivores.

    Seth P. D. Riley;John P. Pollinger;Raymond M. Sauvajot;Raymond M. Sauvajot;Eric C. York

  • A role for ecotones in generating rainforest biodiversity

    Thomas B. Smith;Robert K. Wayne;Derek J. Girman;Michael William Bruford

  • Genome Sequencing Highlights the Dynamic Early History of Dogs

    Adam H. Freedman;Ilan Gronau;Rena Schweizer;Diego Ortega-Del Vecchyo

  • Estimating population size by genotyping faeces

    Michael H. Kohn;Eric C. York;Denise A. Kamradt;Gary Haught

  • Complete Mitochondrial Genomes of Ancient Canids Suggest a European Origin of Domestic Dogs

    O. Thalmann;B. Shapiro;Pin Cui;V. J. Schuenemann

  • Facts from feces revisited

    Michel H. Kohn;Robert K. Wayne

  • Effects of Urbanization and Habitat Fragmentation on Bobcats and Coyotes in Southern California

    Seth P. D. Riley;Raymond M. Sauvajot;Todd K. Fuller;Eric C. York

  • Ancient DNA Evidence for Old World Origin of New World Dogs

    Jennifer A. Leonard;Robert K. Wayne;Jane Wheeler;Raúl Valadez

  • Widespread Origins of Domestic Horse Lineages

    Carles Vilà;Jennifer A. Leonard;Anders Götherström;Stefan Marklund

  • High MHC diversity maintained by balancing selection in an otherwise genetically monomorphic mammal

    Andres Aguilar;Gary Roemer;Sally Debenham;Matthew Binns

  • A Simple Genetic Architecture Underlies Morphological Variation in Dogs

    Adam R. Boyko;Pascale Quignon;Lin Li;Jeffrey J. Schoenebeck

Frequent Co-Authors

Jennifer A. Leonard
Jennifer A. Leonard Spanish National Research Council
Elaine A. Ostrander
Elaine A. Ostrander National Institutes of Health
Carles Vilà
Carles Vilà Spanish National Research Council
Eli Geffen
Eli Geffen Tel Aviv University
Stephen J. O'Brien
Stephen J. O'Brien Nova Southeastern University
Borja Milá
Borja Milá Spanish National Research Council
Klaus-Peter Koepfli
Klaus-Peter Koepfli Smithsonian Institution
Carlos Bustamante
Carlos Bustamante Stanford University
Kirk E. Lohmueller
Kirk E. Lohmueller University of California, Los Angeles
Seth P. D. Riley
Seth P. D. Riley National Park Service

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