APALACHICOLA NATIONAL ESTUARINE RESEARCH RESERVE HOSTS RESEARCH TALK ON GENTICS AND ITS USE IN CONSERVATION

~Grass, Crabs, and Rats: Genetics as a Tool in Conservation~

APALACHICOLA- Tuesday, June 9, 2:00-3:00pm, the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve will host a research talk by Hayley Tumas, PhD student at the University of Georgia.  The seminar will include an overview of gene flow, an introduction to landscape genetics, and an outline of Haley’s research project.  The main objective of her research project is it identify the landscape features and environmental factors that most influence gene flow in the Gulf Coast salt marsh.  With that objective in mind, the seminar will focus on how genetics can be utilized in conservation decision making to make more effective management plans and alleviate the effects of sea level rise on the Gulf coast.  She be giving an overview of animal dispersal and how it can be characterized by genetics.  Additionally, Hayley will also be discussing the emerging field of landscape genetics, its application to conservation, and how she will be applying the methodology of landscape genetics to three species (black needlerush, Gulf Marsh Fiddler Crabs, and Marsh Rice Rats) on the Gulf coast, including an overview of her project in progress at the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve (ANERR).  Come join us for this free seminar to learn about the exciting world of conservation genetics and how it applies to the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve.

Haley is a second year PhD student studying wildlife biology and management in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources at the University of Georgia. She has completed her bachelor’s degree in ecology and evolution at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her undergraduate research was based in Dr. Maile Neel’s conservation genetics lab studying an aquatic grass, Vallisneria americana, in the Chesapeake Bay. She will be continuing research in conservation genetics, focusing on three species in the Gulf salt marsh. Her goal is to use genetics as a tool for creating more effective management plans for the Gulf coast. For more information contact Rebecca Bernard, 850-670-7721, email Rebecca.Bernard@dep.state.fl.us

WHAT:          Research Talk Grass, Crabs, and Rats: Genetics as a Tool in Conservation by Hayley Tumas, PhD

WHEN:          June 9, 2015 2:00-3:00 p.m. Free

WHERE:       Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve Nature Center
                        108 Island Dr.
                        Eastpoint, FL 32328

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