• Research Assistant Professor, Natural Resources

Research

My research focuses on the genetic analysis of wildlife populations: their behavior, population ecology, and conservation. When possible, I employ an interdisciplinary approach to my research, incorporating field data with laboratory work in molecular genetics. Using techniques, such as microsatellite, SNP, and RFLP analysis, I pursue both basic and applied questions in molecular ecology on a variety of vertebrates, including, black bears, New England cottontails, spotted salamanders, wood frogs and codfish. I frequently have opportunities for undergraduates to help either in the field or lab.

Current & Recent Research Projects:

• Genetic analysis of dispersal and population structure of vernal pool-breeding amphibians (wood frogs and spotted salamanders)
• Genetic identification of Atlantic cod stocks in the Gulf of Maine
• Population censusing of black bears using genetic tagging
• Mating behavior and variance in reproductive success of male black bears
• Fecal mtDNA analysis to noninvasively monitor populations of endangered New England cottontails

Undergraduates interested in participating in these projects, please contact me via email.

Primary Teaching Responsibilities

• ZOOL 507: Human Anatomy and Physiology, I
• ZOOL 508: Human Anatomy and Physiology, II

Selected Publications

Litvaitis, J.A., M.S. Barbour, A.L. Brown, A.I. Kovach, J.D. Oehler, B.L. Probert, D.F. Smith, J.P. Tash, R.Villafuerte, and M.K. Litvaitis. 2005. Testing multiple hypotheses to identify the causes of the range-wide decline of New England cottontails. In press. Part of the forthcoming book, Biology of lagomorphs - evolution, ecology and conservation. P. Alves and K. Hackländer, editors.

Kovach, A.I. and P.J. Pekins. 2004. An Assessment of Black Bear Abundance in Northern New Hampshire Through the Use of Remote Genetic Tagging. Final Report to the New Hampshire Fish & Game Department, Concord, NH.

Kovach, A.I. and D.L. Berlinsky. 2004. Genetic analysis of temporally differentiated spawning populations of Atlantic cod. (abstract) Gadoid Mariculture: Development & Future Challenges, ICES Symposium, Bergen, Norway.

Kovach, A.I., M.K. Litvaitis, and J.A. Litvaitis. 2003. Evaluation of fecal mtDNA analysis as a method to determine the geographic range of a rare lagomorph. Wildllife Society Bulletin. 31(4): 1061-1065.

Kovach, A.I. and R.A. Powell. 2003. Influence of body size on mating tactics and paternity in male black bears, Ursus americanus. Canadian Journal of Zoology. 81:1257-1268.

Kovach, A. 1998. Dominance and reproduction in male black bears. Ph.D. Dissertation. University of North Carolina, Raleigh, NC.

Armitage, K.B., C.S. Salisbury, E.L. Barthelmess, R.C. Gray, and A. Kovach. 1996. Population time budget for the yellow-bellied marmot. Ethology Ecology & Evolution. 8:67-95.

Kovach A. and M.S. Gaines. 1991 . The influence of sex ratio on dispersal in the prairie vole, Microtus ochrogaster. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Sciences. 94(3-4):142-152.

Education