Wildlife Genetics

 

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Next offered Fall 2013 at UC Davis Mtn Lion

Applied Ecological Genetics and Genomics
For Ecology, Health, and Conservation
of Natural Populations

ECL242/PHR242
3 units
Fall 2013 (proposed Wed and Fri 10:00-11:50am)
Location TBA
Instructor: Holly Ernest

All graduate students interested in ecological genetics & genomics welcome (plant, animal, microbe, parasite, disease ecology, etc)Oak Tree

To Register:
CRN for Ecology graduate students: TBA
CRN for grad students in all other graduate groups: TBA

Graduate students are invited!

For students interested in learning how to use genetics to answer important conservation and ecological research questions

Invited: students in any graduate group including Animal Behavior, Animal Biology, Animal Behavior, Anthropology, Avian Sciences, Comparative Pathology, Ecology, Entomology, Epidemiology, Forensic Science, Genetics, Horticulture & Agronomy, Masters of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Plant Science, Population Biology, and others.

Email the instructor, Holly Ernest for more information.

Texts

Required readings will be assigned inFreeland2011Book
1) Main text: Freeland, Petersen, and Kirk
Molecular Ecology. 2nd edition. 2011
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell.
Available at UCD main book store and book sellers such as Amazon.
Available as Kindle edition via Amazon.

2) Frankham, Ballour, Briscoe.
Introduction to Conservation Genetics. 2nd edition. Cons Gen Book
Cambridge Univ. Press. 2009

Books will be available on 2-hour reserve at Shields Library


Topics

• Study design and sampling strategies
• Become facile in "language" of genetics & genomics - by end of course you'll be able to understand talks and communicate with collaborators in topic
• Molecular tools for ecology including next generation sequencing, whole genome, microsatellites, mitochondrial DNA, etc
• Genetics of free-ranging organisms (animals, plants, microbes)
• Endangered species and invasive species
• Introduction to statistical analysis of ecological genetic data
• Molecular identification of individuals, parents, kinship, populations, species
• Conservation genetics; landscape genetics
• Population genetics and phylogeography for ecology
• Specialized ecological genetics/genomics: disease ecology genetics, microbial genetics, immunogenetics, and more.

Sessions in computer lab, discussion, and lecture; surveying the breadth of ecological genetics & genomics


For graduate students who are looking for an introduction to the how, when, where, why's of applications of genetics & genomics to ecological questions.
  • Learn how you can use genetic/genomic tools for graduate research and applied conservation
  • Get a great foundation in ecological genetics/genomics to support future careers (wildlife biology, resource management, academic positions, state-federal jobs, non-governmental organizations (NGO's), etc.) - even if you may not be actively planninglaboratory work -
  • This course is good for both "lab rats" and "non-lab rats".