GVLer Alana Luzzio presented hot off the press results for her research using parentage based tagging to study Putah Creek salmon - more evidence of a new population establishing in the creek!

GVL affiliate Mac Campbell talks about advances in our understanding of longfin smelt ecology from the high quality reference genome produced in the lab.

Current and former GVLers contributed five talks to the genetics session at Bay Delta Science, spanning population genetics, eDNA detection, CRISPRdx, and genetic biocontrol of invasive species! Thanks to DWR for organizing such a great session!

First Highly Contiguous Genome Assembly for the Western bluebird (Sialia mexicana) academic.oup.com/gbe/article/...

The First Highly Contiguous Genome Assembly for the Western bluebird (Sialia mexicana)

Abstract. The western bluebird (Sialia mexicana) is a secondary cavity-nesting thrush that has experienced historical population declines, local extirpatio

academic.oup.com

PhD Candidate, Mary Badger, shared her research on American Kestrels in working agricultural landscapes at the American Ornithological Society (AOS) Annual Meeting in Massachusetts last week! Great job, Mary!

Carlos Esperanza, one of our PhD students, shared his research on Western Bluebird population structure at the American Ornithological Society (AOS) Annual Meeting in Massachusetts last week! Great job, Carlos!

Do you like Lake Tahoe? Do you dislike invasive mollusks? If so, and to learn more, check out my PhD student Grace Rosburg-Francot's crowdfunding campaign to support her research developing eDNA methods for AIS surveillance and management in Lake Tahoe! experiment.com/projects/how...

How can we use environmental DNA detection keep invasive mollusks out of Lake Tahoe?

All organisms shed DNA into the environment (eDNA). Research suggests that detecting aquatic invasive species (AIS) early can be better done with eDNA methods than through conventional means [1]. I am...

experiment.com

Visited GVL undergrads Juliette Dalicano and Sofia Nadeau at their poster presentation at the UC Davis Undergraduate Research Conference! They did a fantastic job! And who knew that western bluebirds like to eat cockroaches? Now there is an incentive to put a birdbox on your property!

One of our PhD students, Carlos Esperanza, recently visited Doodad Ranch to collect a genetic sample for his Western Bluebird population genetics project!

GVL Visits Doodad Ranch!

3/27/2026 Graduate students Diana Munoz, Anderson Tate, and Carlos Esperanza spent the day at Doodad Ranch in Elverta, California with two main goals: obtain a genetic sample of a Western bluebird, an...

gvlatucdavis.com

GVL project scientist Ravi Nagarajan gave a great talk at the Interagency Ecological Workshop about how eDNA metabarcoding is about as sensitive as qPCR in detecting Chinook salmon in tidal wetlands, and run-typing from eDNA looks promising!

Luis Alvarez, an undergraduate in the BioInnovation Group at UC Davis, wrote this article highlighting some of our work!

How CRISPR and Biotechnology Can Revolutionize Conservation

Contemporary conservation management faces a variety of challenges. One of those challenges being the ability to identify species accurately when visual identification is unreliable. Conservation team...

big.ucdavis.edu

Our undergraduate interns are vital to our graduate students' research! Many use the skills they developed to initiate their own projects, preparing them to be the researchers of tomorrow 🧪.

Andrea Schreier@andrea-schreier.bsky.social · 8mo ago

On Feb 13, we held the first GVL undergrad - mentor luncheon to allows all the interns to meet, since they often work at different times or places, and to connect them to grad students or staff in the lab aside from their mentors. It was a great success! I’m so lucky to work with all of them!

So proud of the GVL's own Anna Jordan, who educates Californian's about her study species, the giant gartersnake, in this great video by RiceNews. www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSqw...

California Rice Footprint: Giant Gartersnake

YouTube video by RiceNews

youtube.com

Hi Bluesky! We are the Genomic Variation Laboratory based at UC Davis. Our current projects include: 🧬 CRISPR-based SHERLOCK assays for eDNA detection 🧬 Metabarcoding to detect animal and plant diversity in predator diets and ecosystems 🧬 Population genetics of fishes and more!