Evolution of the Trowbridge shrew
Chris Conroy, Staff Curator
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology
Applications for Spring 2024 are closed for this project.
The Trowbridge shrew, Sorex trowbridgii, is a common small mammal across middle to northern California, extending into Oregon and Washington. Deep genetic divergence within the species suggests incipient speciation is underway. This project has two current goals. 1) Develop more, and novel molecular data to investigate depth of divergence and test for gene flow between genetic groups. 2) Examine the relationship between morphological variation (skull morphometrics, coloration) and genetic data. Morphology was used to elevate the current subspecies, and will aid in understanding the divergence of these groups. The morphometric research involves photographing shrew skulls, using software to measure various parts, and file manipulation. Looking at images for characters would also be useful beyond just measurements. Students can work with Conroy to whatever degree they choose.
Role: For the morphometric work, continuation of analysis of photographs, photography, specimen digitization, etc. We might also consider reading field notes to better understand habitat characteristics and coding that. If a student has GIS skills, we might consider doing niche modeling.
Qualifications: For the morphometric work, a background in statistics would be great. Currently we are using some basic statistical packages like PAST4 and MorphoJ, and Excel.
Hours: 6-8 hrs
Biological & Health Sciences