Assessing resilience of native oaks in Los Angeles urban forest usinggenetic information

Bio:
Heidi is a PhD candidate in the Ecology & Evolutionary Dept. at UCLA, advised by Dr. Victoria Sork. They study how California native oaks adapt to their local environments, with specific interests in the genomic basis of adaptations and research applications to ecosystem management. Heidi graduated from UC Berkeley with degrees in Molecular Environmental Biology and Geography. Outside of research, they enjoy running, taking dance classes, and navigating different city transit systems.

Project:
Trees play essential roles in cities, providing, purifying air, and supporting local wildlife.
However, shifting climatic conditions and novel pests and pathogens threaten the future of urban
forests. Resilience to such changes can be assessed by measuring intraspecific genetic diversity,
the amount of DNA sequence variation present within a species, since it influences the range of
responses to environmental cues. My project will assess intraspecific genetic diversity levels of
three native oaks in Los Angeles’ urban forest: coast live oak, Engelmann oak, and valley oak.
For each species, I will sequence whole genomes of trees across LA county, compute genetic
diversity metrics, and compare them to those of natural populations. I will also infer the seed
sources of urban oaks to assess any adaptations they have, given knowledge of their source
environments. This work will elucidate little-known genetic diversity levels of urban trees and
inform planting strategies in LA and beyond.