Wildlife Genetics

 

Click on photo for more info

Great Gray Owl

Mtn Lion

Anna's Hummingbird

Bear

magpie

Red-shouldered Hawk

White-tailed deer

Galápagos hawk

Photo Credits

 

 

Holly Ernest, DVM, PhD

Wildlife Genetics, Genomics, and Population Health

Laboratory director and senior investigator:
Wildlife and Ecology Unit, Veterinary Genetics Laboratory, UC Davis
Holly banding hummingbirds

Associate Professor in Residence in
Wildlife genetics, genomics, and population health
Dept. of Population Health and Reproduction


Dedicated to:
  Research to develop and apply latest technology in DNA science and disease ecology toward health and understanding of wild animal populations
•  Educating the next generation of genomic scientists, applied ecologists, and wildlife veterinarians

•  Providing wildlife population health service and information


Curriculum Vitae (detailed) pdf

Education


Research

Interdisciplinary applied and basic research in genetics, genomics, biology, and disease ecology for wildlife conservation and population health. 

Special interests in genetics and genomics:  Population Genetics; Molecular DNA to reconstruct predigrees (family trees) to reveal ecological relationships among individuals, kin groups, populations and disease distributions; Discovery of associations among genetic mechanisms, genetic diversity and evolutionary history and phenotypic diversity (phenotype is the composite of an organism's observable characteristics or traits).

Special interest species: Hummingbirds, Yellow-billed Magpie, Swainson's Hawk, Great Gray Owl, Mountain Lion, Sea Otter, Black Bear, Feral Hog in California (wild pig, wild boar).
Special interest diseases: Avian pox virus, West Nile virus, wildlife leptospirosis, and others
Special interest regions:  California, Mexico, Chile; South/Central America; global interests

See Research pages and Featured Research


Publications

Funding agencies and collaborators


Teaching and Education

Courses: Graduate student courses developed and taught:
Ecological Genetics and Genomics: ECL242 / PHR242
Landscape Genetics with GIS (with Dr. Karen Beardsley): PHR298 (soon to be ECL2XX)

Population Genetics Data Analysis and Software: ECL290 taught periodicall
Molecular Markers for Ecology, Conservation, and Wildlife Population Health: ECL290 taught periodicall

Co-leader for Population Health Veterinary Curriculum UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine
Including Epidemiology, Public Health, Foreign Animal Diseases, Biostatistics, One Health, Ecosystem Health, Population Health 

Student Opportunities (Graduate, Veterinary, Undergraduate)

Graduate student research and mentorship opportunities


Public and University ServiceSea otter


Current Projectsbighorn sheep


UC Davis affiliations Ferret

Department
Population Health and Reproduction (School of Veterinary Medicine)

Main Center/Lab affiliation
Veterinary Genetics Laboratory

Graduate Groups
Animal Biology, Avian Sciences, Ecology, Epidemiology, Forensic Science, Genetics; and Masters in Preventive Veterinary Medicine (MPVM)

See Student Opportunities

UC Davis Centers (affiliate faculty membership)
John Muir Center for the Environment
Institute for One Health / Wildlife Health Center


Professional Societies and Memberships


Licensed California veterinarian
Master Bird Bander Federal U.S. permit (Hummingbirds)


Banding Hummingbird at McLaughlin Nature Reserve near Clear Lake, CA

Holly banding hummingbirdsRUfous Hummingbird

Investigating botulsim outbreak in bighorn sheep, Mojave desert, California

Investigating botulism

Address
258 CCAH, School of Veterinary Medicine, UC Davis, One Shields Ave, Davis, CA 95616

Office Phone: (530) 754-8245

Lab Phone: (530) 752-5727

Email: hbernest (at) ucdavis.edu