Genetic management of the Delta Smelt refuge population​

The Delta Smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus) is a threatened species endemic to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. In 2008, in response to the rapid decline of Delta Smelt in the wild, a refuge population was initiated at the UC Davis Fish Conservation and Culture Laboratory. The broodstock for the captive population is kept at the FCCL, with an additional, smaller backup population maintained at the Livingston Stone National Fish Hatchery.  Dr. Mandi Finger is the PI for the genetic monitoring and management portion of the FCCL population. The goal of genetic management is to maintain a captive population that is genetically (and therefore phenotypically) similar to the wild population.

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DNA metabarcoding to characterize the diversity of gastrointestinal endoparasites in local Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis).

As part of graduate student Ann Holmes's research team since 2019, she collected guano samples over two seasons using non-

invasive methods from three roosts in the Davis region: the I-80 causeway in the Yolo Basin Wildlife Area (the largest bat roost in California) and two bridges in the Putah Creek Riparian Reserve on UC Davis campus. She extracted DNA and prepared Illumina high-throughput sequencing libraries using three genetic barcodes (COI, 18S, and 16S) in the Genomic Variation Lab eDNA facility. Samples are being sequenced at the UC Davis Genome center, and she will use the DADA2 and phyloseq bioinformatic programs in R to identify parasite taxa and conduct further analysis.

 

Her research is funded by a grant from the North American Society for Bat Research and a UC Davis Provost's Fellowship. Funding from the Yolo Basin Foundation Graduate Student Fellowship to Ann Holmes also made this work possible.