Presentation Type
Poster
Major
Biology
Abstract
Droughts are now a common occurrence in Southern California and are known to cause population declines in many species, and such bottlenecks can cause a loss of genetic variation. Genetic variation was examined in a population of the California newt located in Arroyo Sequit Creek in the Santa Monica Mountains. Genetic data from animals examined prior to the current drought were compared to similar data collected from the population after it experienced several years of severe drought. We hypothesized that the drought impacted population should show less genetic variation in comparison to the pre-drought population. Nevertheless, there were no genetic differences between the newt populations before and after the drought. This lack of loss of genetic variation may reflect the long generation time associated with this species of newt.
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Rodney Honeycutt
Location
Waves Cafeteria
Start Date
24-3-2017 2:00 PM
End Date
24-3-2017 3:00 PM
Included in
Genetic Effect of Drought on the California Newt, Taricha torosa
Waves Cafeteria
Droughts are now a common occurrence in Southern California and are known to cause population declines in many species, and such bottlenecks can cause a loss of genetic variation. Genetic variation was examined in a population of the California newt located in Arroyo Sequit Creek in the Santa Monica Mountains. Genetic data from animals examined prior to the current drought were compared to similar data collected from the population after it experienced several years of severe drought. We hypothesized that the drought impacted population should show less genetic variation in comparison to the pre-drought population. Nevertheless, there were no genetic differences between the newt populations before and after the drought. This lack of loss of genetic variation may reflect the long generation time associated with this species of newt.