Our weekly seminar series featuring internal and external speakers in the field of ecology and evolutionary biology. This seminar will be in-person and livestreaming on Zoom (link this page).

Abstract:
Anthropogenic land and other resource use is a major force shaping the abundance, distribution, and evolution of species. It often disrupts historically contiguous habitats, resulting in patchier and smaller fragments which can limit dispersal and gene flow. Populations experiencing such conditions can face elevated risks for inbreeding depression and diminished adaptive capacity. Wildlife managers use various and often multifaceted approaches including habitat restoration, translocations, breeding programs, and demographic monitoring to mitigate extinction risk for species with small, fragmented populations. I will focus on how genomics can be used to gain deeper understanding of the demographic outcomes of these practices and the value of looking under the hood in this way for assessing population fitness using federally Threatened Florida Scrub-Jays as an example. Secondly, I will discuss the prospect of using biclustering algorithms for identifying loci that may contribute to genetic load and the potential of applying this approach to enhance the recovery of the federally Endangered Poweshiek skipperling.

Contact eebsemaccess@umich.edu for Zoom password at least 2 hours prior to event.