Adrienne

Adrienne Kovach

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Phone: (603) 862-1603
Office: Natural Resources & the Environment, James Hall Rm 130, Durham, NH 03824
Websites:

My research focuses on the population ecology and conservation of vertebrates, with a focus on species of concern in the Northeast. I use multidisciplinary approaches, often integrating genetic and genomic tools with population and landscape modeling and the collection of observational and ecological data. I seek to address fundamental and applied questions about animal dispersal, population structure and gene flow, ecological adaptation, and occupancy and abundance monitoring. To date, I have worked with a diversity of vertebrates, including black bears, New England cottontails, tidal marsh and shrubland birds, anadromous fish, and Atlantic cod. I encourage my students to incorporate field, laboratory, and quantitative approaches in their research.

Courses Taught

  • BIOL 799H: Honors Senior Thesis
  • BMS 795W: Investigations Biomedical Sci
  • GEN 795W: Investigations in Genetics
  • INCO 590: Student Research Experience
  • NR 664: Conservation Genetics
  • NR 750: Sustain Biological Diversity
  • NR 795W: Inv/SustainBioDiversityWI
  • NR 908: Landscape Genetics

Education

  • Ph.D., Zoology, North Carolina State University
  • B.S., University of Kansas

Selected Publications

  • Elizondo, E. C., Clark, J. D., McRae, S. B., Kovach, A., & Shriver, W. G. (2025). Genomic data support interspecific divergence but reveal limited population structure and cryptic hybridization in Rallus elegans (King Rail) and R. crepitans (Clapper Rail). Ornithology. doi:10.1093/ornithology/ukaf011

  • Maxwell, L. M., Walsh, J., Olsen, B. J., & Kovach, A. I. (2025). Pre- and Post-Copulatory Sexual Traits Influence Male Fitness Across a Mosaic Hybrid Zone.. Ecol Evol, 15(2), e70935. doi:10.1002/ece3.70935

  • Loehle, C., Miller, D. A., Kovach, A. I., Larsen-Gray, A. L., Akresh, M. E., McDonald, J. E., . . . Kanter, J. (2024). Forest Management Is Key for Conserving Biodiversity and Providing Ecosystem Services in the United States. Forests, 15(12), 2087. doi:10.3390/f15122087

  • Benham, P. M., Cicero, C., Escalona, M., Beraut, E., Fairbairn, C., Marimuthu, M. P. A., . . . Bowie, R. C. K. (2024). Remarkably High Repeat Content in the Genomes of Sparrows: The Importance of Genome Assembly Completeness for Transposable Element Discovery.. Genome Biol Evol, 16(4). doi:10.1093/gbe/evae067

  • Maxwell, L. M., Clark, J. D., Walsh, J., Conway, M., Olsen, B. J., & Kovach, A. I. (2024). Ecological characteristics explain neutral genetic variation of three coastal sparrow species.. Mol Ecol, 33(8), e17316. doi:10.1111/mec.17316

  • Fenderson, L. E., Kovach, A. I., & Llamas, B. (2020). Spatiotemporal landscape genetics: Investigating ecology and evolution through space and time. MOLECULAR ECOLOGY, 29(2), 218-246. doi:10.1111/mec.15315

  • Kerr, L. A., Cadrin, S. X., & Kovach, A. I. (2014). Consequences of a mismatch between biological and management units on our perception of Atlantic cod off New England. ICES JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE, 71(6), 1366-1381. doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsu113

  • Kovach, A. I., Breton, T. S., Berlinsky, D. L., Maceda, L., & Wirgin, I. (2010). Fine-scale spatial and temporal genetic structure of Atlantic cod off the Atlantic coast of the USA. MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES, 410, 177-U195. doi:10.3354/meps08612

  • Wirgin, I., Kovach, A. I., Maceda, L., Roy, N. K., Waldman, J., & Berlinsky, D. L. (2007). Stock identification of Atlantic cod in US waters using microsatellite and single nucleotide polymorphism DNA analyses. TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY, 136(2), 375-391. doi:10.1577/T06-068.1

  • Kovach, A. I., & Powell, R. A. (2003). Effects of body size on male mating tactics and paternity in black bears, Ursus americanus. CANADIAN JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY, 81(7), 1257-1268. doi:10.1139/Z03-111

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  • Most Cited Publications