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SUMMARY:EESS talk on "Seascape genomics to empower coral reef conservation
  strategies"
DTSTART:20210504T121500
DTEND:20210504T130000
DTSTAMP:20260916T032118Z
UID:1d0e9233f19757a410bc323931f526b45a0837eafa30b6a23f370d69
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Dr Oliver M. Selmoni\, Postdoctoral fellow\, Geographic Inform
 ation Systems Laboratory (LASIG)\, EPFL\nAbstract:\nThe future of coral re
 efs is under threat since anomalous heat waves are causing the death of re
 ef building corals around the world. Without corals\, the entire reef ecos
 ystem is expected to collapse\, threatening the survival of up to one thir
 d of marine wildlife. Despite the catastrophic perspectives\, a glimmer of
  hope is brought by corals that persist at reefs exposed to recurrent heat
  waves. Corals at these sites might have adapted to stressful conditions a
 nd therefore carry the genetic characteristics to secure future survival. 
 One of the hot topics in coral research is the characterization of corals 
 adaptive potential: how can we find corals adapted to heat stress and how 
 can we use this information to empower coral reef conservation?\nWe propos
 e an approach called seascape genomics to answer these questions. Seascape
  genomics is at the crossroads between environmental and genomic analyses.
  First\, remote sensing is employed to characterize the thermal history of
  a reef system over the last decades. Next\, coral samples are collected a
 t the reefs exposed to the most contrasted conditions. These samples under
 go genomics analyses to identify the genetic features that are characteris
 tic of corals persisting in stressful environments. These genetic features
  might underpin the adaptive process conferring thermal resistance in cora
 ls.\nWe applied this approach two case studies\, Japan and New Caledonia\,
  and we successfully identified coral populations potentially adapted to t
 hermal stress. Furthermore\, we developed a framework to transpose the res
 ults of seascape genomics into a prediction of the adaptive potential at t
 he extent of an entire reef system. This information is to date missing in
  marine conservation plans\, and could be used to prioritize reefs based t
 heir probability of future survival.\n\nShort biography:\nDr Oliver Selmon
 i is a postdoc at the Laboratory of Geographic Information Systems (LASIG)
  at EPFL. He completed his BSc in biology and Msc in bioinformatics at the
  University of Lausanne. He joined the LASIG in 2016 for a PhD thesis focu
 sing on the use of environmental genomics to support the conservation of c
 oral reefs. His PhD work\, completed in 2020\, was performed in collaborat
 ion with the French Institute of Research for Development (IRD) of New Cal
 edonia (southern Pacific). He is member of the ManaCo network\, founded in
  2019 and promoting the implementation of innovative technologies from aca
 demic research into marine conservation practices.
LOCATION:ZOOM https://epfl.zoom.us/j/84677261593
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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