We got a really great lecture from Elaine, the PhD student traveling with us to Beza, on conservation genetics. This is her area of expertise and it really showed! She is so passionate about her work and it is so entirely inspiring to see someone loving what they do. I really had no idea at first that genetics played such a vital role in conservation until she explained the reasoning behind these methods. We can use genetics to look at species recognition, phylogeny, and generic viability of individuals or a group. What I thought was most interesting was the bit about landscape genetics. Studying this can help look for strong potential candidates for connecting fragmented forest through corridors. The technology used to study conservation genetics is also really cool. There is CRISPR Cas 9, the miniPCR and the miniON. Elaine specifically uses miniPCRs as they are lightweight, durable, fully functional, cost efficient, and they have a small energy footprint so they are great for the field. Genetic studies in conservation could also potentially be used to resurrect extinct species and eradicate certain invasive species – pretty neat, but also pretty controversial.
