Projects

The UC Conservation Genomics Consortium supports research, development of new analytical tools, education for graduate and post-graduate students via workshops, and interfaces with conservation managers and planners as well as the general public. The Consortium is a hub for a network of conservation efforts applying genomic techniques.

We will apply cutting edge molecular, computational and analytical techniques principally used in human genome biology to natural systems. We will translate our findings into recommendations for management of threatened and endangered species and monitoring of environmental resources, all critical concerns in California given population growth and climate change.

The list of projects includes:

Species Area Status Threat Conservation Problem & Aim PI Campus
Vernal pool fairy shrimp Central Cal Threatened Habitat loss/grazing/ drought Connectivity, local adaptation, drought Dawson UCM
Vernal pool Colusa grass Central Cal Threatened Habitat loss/grazing/ drought Connectivity, local adaptation, drought Sexton UCM
Ochre seastar California rocky intertidal Unknown Sea star wasting disease outbreak Emerging infectious wildlife diseases Dawson UCM
Red Abalone Cal coast Threatened Overharvesting Population specific markers for law enforcement Wayne UCLA
California Tiger Salamander Central Cal Threatened/ endangered Habitat loss Hybridization with related invasive species Shaffer UCLA
Tricolored Blackbird Central/SoCal Declining Urbanization/nest habitat loss connectivity/ local adaptation Smith UCLA
Bobcat Urban habitats in California Declining Rodenticide/leading cause of mortality How toxicants affect immune function Wayne UCLA
Valley Oak California Declining Habitat loss, drought Habitat fragmentation Sork UCLA
California Black Rail Central Cal Wetlands Threatened West Nile Virus/ drought connectivity/ local adaptation Beissinger UCB
Yellow-legged frog Sierra Nevada Mountains Endangered Disease, introduced predator/competitors Connectivity/disease, local adaptation Rosenblum UCB
Mountain Lion California Threatened near urban areas Habitat loss/ urbanization, human conflict/rodenticide connectivity, gene expression & rodenticides Wilmers UCSC
Sea Otter Cal coast Threatened Habitat loss/pollution connectivity, pollutants, bottleneck Estes/Wayne UCSC & UCLA
Black Abalone Cal coast Critically endangered Habitat loss Local adaptations, connectivity Shapiro UCSC
Steelhead Trout Cal Coast/ central valley Threatened/ endangered Dams/stream dewatering Connectivity/local adaptation Palkovacs UCSC
Northern Spotted Owl West Coast/ Northern Cal Threatened Habitat loss, competition from invasive species Hybridization with related invasive species Wall UCSF
Pacific Pocket Mouse Cal coastal chaparral Endangered Habitat loss, groundwater loss Non-invasive reintroduction monitoring Wayne UCLA
California Grizzly Bear Western US Extinct Hunting Assessment of closeness to living bears, awareness, deextinction Shapiro UCSC
Vernal Pool Endemics (crustacean and grasses)  Central Cal  Endangered Multiple anthropogenic factors Inform conservation with population stratification and gene flow results  Dawson  UCM
Crayfish eDNA Southern Cal Invasive No predators, rapidly degrade landscape and shift to other food sources Develop an early detection strategy Wayne UCLA