Poster Details
USING SECOND-GENERATION SEQUENCING TO INVESTIGATE ANTHROPOGENIC IMPACTS OF NYS RESERVOIRS
Changes in a landscape as a result of reservoir creation can alter interactions between organisms in surrounding areas. These changes can limit dispersal and gene flow around reservoirs; thereby isolating populations. This research uses an aquatic indicator species, Nigronia serricornis (Say) (Megaloptera: Corydalidae), to determine if the creation of reservoirs impacts gene flow between populations in the surrounding area. If gene flow patterns change over similar geographic distances on and off the reservoir for N. serricornis, other species may be similarly affected as well as ecosystem services provided by these aquatic communities. Restriction-site Associated DNA (RAD) sequencing was used on individuals from approximately equidistant populations on tributaries flowing into the Pepacton reservoir, in Downsville, New York, and those flowing directly into the Delaware River, downstream and unaffected by the reservoir. Initial data analysis revealed a possible genomic sampling bias in the relatively-new RAD sequencing technique. Upon completion, this research project will provide a better understanding of the impact of reservoir creation on aquatic species, which could better inform management and restoration practices, and propose a novel revision to RAD sequencing that should ameliorate genomic sampling bias in RAD analyses.
Emily Berezowski (Primary Presenter/Author), State University of New York College at Oneonta, bereem98@oneonta.edu;
Jeffrey Heilveil (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), SUNY College at Oneonta, heilvejs@oneonta.edu;