Join Joseph Curti, a Ph.D. candidate at UCLA, as they discuss their conservation genomic approaches to studying an important game bird species and the state bird of California, the California quail (Callipepla californica). In this talk, Joseph will discuss impacts to California quail across their range, putative reasons for California quail decline, and the state of ongoing research to trap California quail in the Santa Monica Mountains of Los Angeles in order to use whole genome resequencing to assess how roads of differing traffic volume impact quail dispersal and gene flow. Joseph will end their talk with a discussion of how the results of this study can be applied to California quail conservation across their range as well as ways that individuals can contribute to the study through observations of quail in the field.
Joseph Curti is a fourth year Ph.D. candidate in the UCLA Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department. Joey is interested in applying whole-genome sequencing to California conservation management. Joey’s current research projects include 1) the impacts of long-term isolation and small population size on California red-legged frogs (Rana draytonii) in the Santa Monica Mountains, 2) the impacts of roads on the genetic health and population connectivity of California quail (Callipepla californica), and 3) population structure and signatures of local adaptation of the Yuma bat (Myotis yumanensis). He works closely with the National Park Service (Santa Monica Mountains), the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the California Conservation Genomics Project.
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