Conservation Genomics

One of the primary strengths of La Kretz Center researchers is the intersection of conservation biology and cutting-edge genomic science. We actively fund projects that bring together academics, resource and land policy professionals, and regulatory experts to optimally use the power of genomics in the conservation of California’s threatened and exploited species. In partnership with the UCLA Grand Challenges program, we have launched the California Conservation Genomics Project. In addition, we continue to fund researchers as they quantify the distribution of genetic variation that is critical for adaptation and species resilience in the face of climate change, habitat fragmentation, and other challenges faced by declining species.

PROJECTS

2021

Assessing Barriers to California Quail (Callipepla californica) Gene Flow in the Santa Monica Mountains

Awardee: Joey Curti, second year doctoral student in the Wayne Lab. Joey is interested in applying whole-genome sequencing to address conservation management questions in the Santa Monica Mountains of Los Angeles and throughout California.

2021

California Conservation Genomics Project (CCGP)

The CCGP is funded by the State of California, led by the UCLA/La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science, and includes contributing scientists from all 10 UC campuses.

2021

Monitoring of artificial reef restoration in Palos Verdes using eDNA

Awardee: Elijah Catalan, first year Ph.D. student at the Institute of Environment and Sustainability. Elijah's research intends to bring together genomic-based biodiversity monitoring, biogeochemistry, Indigenous tribal knowledge, and stewardship programs to understand the resilience of coastal and marine biodiversity to climate change and possibilities for adaptation on the West Coast.

fish and metazoan diversity in seagrass beds

2021

Using Environmental DNA to Assess the Community Composition of Eelgrass Meadows in Santa Monica Bay and Catalina Island

Awardee: Tanner Waters, third-year doctoral student at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability studying marine genetics. Tanner's work uses environmental DNA (eDNA) to understand landscape scale conservation and restoration efforts.

2020

Environmental DNA as a tool for assessing microbial diversity & ecological impacts by contaminants at The Bowtie parcel Brownfield site in Southern California

Awardee: Maura Palacios, Postdoctoral Scholar in the Wayne Lab. Maura's projects use eDNA to assess species assemblages in the Mojave Desert Springs, a threatened ecosystem and to explore microbial community changes in relation to hazardous materials at Brownfield sites throughout Southern California, for potential bioremediation practices.

new environmental dna program makes conservation research faster, more efficient

2020

Utilizing environmental DNA to understand its efficacy to detect rare fish and the effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas

Awardee: Zack Gold, Ph.D. Candidate in Professor Paul Barber’s lab. Zack researches the effects of multiple human stressors on marine ecosystems using novel environmental DNA (eDNA) techniques.

2019

DNA meta-barcoding to inform management for parasite infecting endemic San Miguel Island foxes

Awardees: Meixi Lin, second year Ph.D. student in the Wayne Lab, and Ana Garcia Vedrenne, Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology at UCSB. Ana is using DNA meta-barcoding to identify and quantify parasite and pathogen biodiversity in California ecosystems. Meixi is intrigued by how molecular biology tools could help resolve previously impossible wildlife conservation puzzles.

2018

Biodiversity of native species in Los Angeles

La Kretz Postdoc Dr. Joscha Beninde is conducting a comparative landscape genomics study to understand how species survive and thrive in urban environments.

2018

Characterizing lagoon biodiversity in southern California using environmental DNA

Awardee: Rachel Turba. Rachel is investigating shifts in community structure related to such impacts through exploration of environmental DNA from water samples and sediments from these lagoons, with the goal to address conservation efforts related to translocation of populations or local environment improvement.

2018

Developing Genomic Resources to Inform Conservation and Management of the Tricolored Blackbird

Awardee: Kelly Barr, PhD Student. Kellys work surrounds using a massive genomic dataset to analyze these issues in Tricolored Blackbirds, a species that has undergone sharp declines and is under intense management throughout the state of California.

2017

Citizen Scientist’s Message in a Bottle: Rapid eDNA assessments of marine biodiversity to evaluate the effectiveness of Los Angeles’ marine protected areas

Awardee: Zack Gold, graduate student in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Zack is conducting a citizen science environmental DNA project to compare marine biodiversity inside and outside of coastal MPAs in Los Angeles County to understand how well fishing restrictions protect marine ecosystems.

2017

Landscape genomic analyses of four endangered California reptile and amphibian species

The La Kretz Center is partnering with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to generate genomic data to inform species listing decisions under the US Endangered Species Act.

2017

Valley Oak Conservation in a Changing Climate

Rapidly changing climate in California and around the world has the potential to cause a mismatch between the environmental conditions that plants are adapted to and the environmental conditions they…

2016

eDNA: Experimental Restoration of Native Grassland at Stunt Ranch

UCLA researchers are actively restoring this site with native California grassland plants

2016

Stream amphibian connectivity and conservation across the Santa Monica Mountains

La Kretz Center Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Gary Bucciarelli works with the National Park Service to study threatened amphibian populations in southern California.

Publications

Total records: 37

A near chromosome-level assembly of the serpentine endemic columbine, Aquilegia eximia

J. Johns, M. Escalona, C. Miller, N. Chumchim, O. Nguyen, M.P.A. Marimuthu, S. Sacco, C. Fairbairn, E. Beraut, E. Toffelmier, H.B. Shaffer, S. Hodges

Published Work 2025 | Journal of Heredity